Algae Funding Opportunity Announced, Industry Presses White House on Carbon Utilization

On September 30, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a funding opportunity announcement for $25 million, with the goal of spurring cost-competitive algae biofuels by 2019.  Using algae as an advanced fuel is seen by some as the Holy Grail for renewable transportation fuels.  It is flexible in terms of products, capable of producing not only gasoline equivalents but other valuable products.  Most significantly, it has the potential to use carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants as a feedstock – allowing algae producers to utilize a power plant’s CO2 emissions for compliance under EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan.  Unfortunately, algae biofuels have been stymied by setbacks, and they have not yet been able to reach the level of yields and lowered costs needed to make it a viable petroleum alternative.  DOE is still committed to a goal of $3 per gasoline gallon-equivalent (gge) by 2030, and this latest funding opportunity will drive research and development for not only gasoline equivalent algae fuels, but valuable co-products such as renewable jet fuel, industrial chemicals, polymers and proteins. 

The funding opportunity has two parts, the development of suitable algae cultures, and the development of carbon dioxide utilization– which can help combat climate change by using CO2 as a feedstock for the algae process.  For every one gallon of algae fuel created, the growth process of the algae consumes 29 to 33 pounds of CO2. At the same time, the algae industry is asking the EPA to take a second look at their heavy investment in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a compliance strategy for power plant emissions.  Some industry advocates have jokingly called CCS technology a ‘carbon landfill’.  The proposed Clean Power Plan includes four major compliance strategies: making fossil fuel power plants more efficient, using low-emitting power sources more, use more zero- and low-emitting power sources (renewable energy), and use electricity more efficiently.

 Algae companies claim that they would happily take the CO2 from power plants. Several producers have argued that they have always planned to use flue gas and other power plant by-products for algae growth.  Therefore, the EPA’s exclusion of Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) from the Clean Power Plan is prematurely excluding algae’s potential to utilize power plant emissions. The algae industry’s latest effort is a petition to the White House, asking them to consider CCU as a compliance strategy under the Clean Power Plan.  In the last few months, industry advocates have been pressing the Administration on this issue. According to Matt Carr, executive director of the Algae Biomass Organization, the inclusion or exclusion of CCU in regulations will be a major factor in the industry’s success going forward, saying, "We're in a position where these regulations are going to drive investment in biomass as a solution or potentially shut the industry down."  

For more information see: 

Targeted Algal Biofuels and Bioproducts, U.S. DOE

White House Petition on Carbon Utilization Technologies, The White House

Algae companies ask EPA to be able to cash in on power plant emissions, E&E Publishing

EPA Clean Power Plan, U.S. EPA