Algae Fuel Hits Major Milestone, Senators Ask Administration to Invest in Carbon Utilization

On January 13, Florida-based algae fuels company Algenol announced it has received a designation as an advanced biofuel from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Algenol’s fuel was determined by EPA to be 69 percent less greenhouse gas intensive than conventional gasoline. It’s a major milestone for a small but growing industry that has been beset with setbacks and detractors. According to Algenol founder and CEO Paul Woods, "The EPA validates that our suite of fuels meet the GHG reduction requirements set by the EPA for advanced biofuels… but the true game changing part originates from paying for CO2 emissions by converting them into valuable, low-cost transportation fuels.” Utilizing CO2 emissions for algae fuels could even be used a compliance strategy for reducing emissions under the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan.

Algenol’s system produces ethanol, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and freshwater for roughly $1.30 a gallon, using nothing but algae, sun, carbon dioxide (CO2), and saltwater.  According to Algenol, they are capable of producing 8,000 gallons of fuel per acre per year. While this number may be small, the productivity of Algenol’s systems has already grown immensely in the last few years. The systems that produce the algae are portable and easy to set up and breakdown. Most promising, their feedstock is CO2.  Now that carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology is developing, the idea of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a Clean Power Plan compliance strategy sounds less than ideal.  Algae fuel advocates have a tongue-in-cheek term for CCS – carbon landfills. The term is apt, since polluters will have to pay to pump CO2 underground.  Instead, Woods says he wants to buy their CO2, commenting, “just imagine how refreshing the carbon dialogue would sound if CO2 emissions become a corporate asset rather than a liability.”

The Algae Biomass Organization petitioned the White House to consider CCU as a compliance strategy under the Clean Power Plan last fall. On January 15, Senators Manchin (D-WV) and Whitehouse (D-RI) renewed that call in a letter to Secretary of Energy Moniz and EPA Administrator McCarthy. In the letter, they urge the administration to “promote innovative CCU technologies that will create jobs, save consumers money, and safeguard our environment.”  Last year, the political odd-couple toured climate change-affected communities in Rhode Island and coal mining communities in West Virginia, and have jointly stated that human activities are causing climate change, and that fossil fuels will be part of the energy mix for decades to come.  The senators said in their letter that “CCU transforms carbon dioxide from a waste disposal problem into an economic resource and could lower the cost of reducing carbon dioxide emissions”. 

In September, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a funding opportunity of $25 million for the development of suitable algae cultures, and the development of carbon dioxide utilization.

For more information see:

Algenol achieves 'milestone' EPA approval, News-press.com

Whitehouse and Manchin Urge DOE and EPA to Support Carbon Capture Efforts, Sen. Whitehouse

Algenol: Biofuels Digest’s 2015 5-Minute Guide, Biofuels Digest