Biofuel Blog War

A man who is considered to be the father of genomics says that if algae-based fuel makers can’t start making billions of gallons of fuel, they are just playing with investors’ money.
This post on earth2tech.com says Craig Venter, the founder of synthetic biology startup Synthetic Genomics, made the remarks at the Wall Street Journal’s Economics [...]

Sunny days … and biodiesel … will be sweeping the clouds … and the smog … away as the studio that produces Sesame Street will switch to the green fuel for heat.
The New York Daily News reports Kaufman Astoria Studios just became the greenest studio in town as it switches from traditional heating oil to [...]

The former head of the U.S. Export-Import Bank and Chief Investment Officer of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is bringing his copious financial knowledge to algae-biofuels producer Sapphire Energy.
This company press release says James Lambright will also head Sapphire’s international expansion efforts:
A respected leader in the private and public financial sectors, [...]

One of the exhibitors at the recent National Biodiesel Conference that I met with was Drew Harrison, Analytical Sales Manager for IKA Works, Inc. The company was displaying its new Bio Reactor, seen brightly lit in this photo.
Drew says IKA is a hundred year old company. Working with a marine science center they [...]

A researcher at Iowa State University is genetically modifying algae to make it a better feedstock for biodiesel.

This article from Biodiesel Magazine says Martin Spalding, ISU professor of genetics, development and cell biology,has received a $4.37 million grant U.S. Department of Energy to stack traits in algae, specifically, one type of alga, Chlamydomonas, whose genome [...]

The National Algae Association’s Mid-South Chapter will be holding a workshop on how to best use wastewater to grow algae, especially algae for use in biodiesel.
The workshop, entitled “Algae: Mining Wastewater for Nutrients, Fuel, and Fertilizer,” will be held in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday, March 26, 2010:
With US fresh water supplies slowly dwindling and algae [...]

One of the biggest knocks on algae-based biodiesel is the high cost for the truly green fuel. But the U.S. military says it is just months away from making biodiesel from algae for the same cost as its petroleum-based counterpart.
The UK’s Guardian reports that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency … better known as [...]

Algae research continues to get a lot of focus. University of Nebraska-Lincoln has announced that it will expand its algae research center this year, dedicating more space in the Beadle Center greenhouse for the work. As reported by Biomass Magazine, the university received $1.9 million in federal funding for it current research in alternative energy [...]

Our friends at OriginOil, Inc. have developed a comprehensive pilot system for algae growth and harvesting.
This company press release says OriginOil unveiled the system during an event at its Los Angeles headquarters:
At the event, Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil CEO, spoke to the assembled group of core investors, celebrities and members of the press. “I’m very proud [...]

A recent study that contends algae-based biodiesel is no more environmentally friendly than conventional row-crop feedstocks has generated some controversy, as well as quite a few comments. And even the algal-biofuel industry seems to be split on the issue.
As you might remember from my story last week, University of Virginia researchers have concluded that [...]