ExxonMobil to make fuel from algae

Will you be pumping up your car of the future with algae-bred fuel? Possibly, if ExxonMobil's latest venture is successful.

ExxonMobil and biotech firm Synthetic Genomics (SGI) announced on Tuesday a new alliance to produce alternative fuel made from photosynthetic algae. ExxonMobil expects to spend more than $600 million on the project--$300 million internally and another $300 million to SGI if key R&D milestones are met.

Under the partnership, SGI will research and develop systems to grow large amounts of algae and convert them into biofuels. ExxonMobil will provide engineering and scientific talent throughout different phases of the project, from increasing the level of algae production to manufacturing the final product.

(Credit: PetroAlgae)

"Meeting the world's growing energy demands will require a multitude of technologies and energy sources," said Emil Jacobs, vice president of research and development at ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company. "We believe that biofuel produced by algae could be a meaningful part of the solution in the future if our efforts result in an economically viable, low net carbon emission transportation fuel."

In an economic climate that has made life tougher for alternative-energy companies, ExxonMobil is wading into biofuel waters that recently swallowed a once promising algae-minded start-up, GreenFuel Technologies, which said in May that it had run out of funds and would be shutting down. Still, other smaller companies such as PetroAlgae and Aurora Biofuels remain hopeful about commercial production of algae biofuel.

Algae is one of a number of potential alternative fuel sources, though many of the others, like ethanol, are derived from plants also used for food. Algae also can thrive in a variety of conditions.

Based in California, Synthetic Genomics is a privately held company that develops energy solutions based on genomics research.

SGI says it's spent several years working on a way to harvest the oil produced by photosynthetic algae. Past methods have proven costly and time consuming, but SGI says its process for collecting the oil has so far proven more efficient and cost-effective, though work remains to be done.

"The real challenge to creating a viable next generation biofuel is the ability to produce it in large volumes which will require significant advances in both science and engineering," J. Craig Venter, CEO of SGI, said in a statement. "The alliance between SGI and ExxonMobil will bring together the complementary capabilities and expertise of both companies to develop innovative solutions that could lead to the large scale production of biofuel from algae."

[jug831]

Please change all the ExxonMobile's to ExxonMobil. There is no E!!

[Orengeman]

I'll believe it when I see it. In the mean time I think ExxonMobil is just doing this for (a) green publicity and (b) to protect their oil interests. These are oil companies, not energy companies. They and their shareholders care about profits short-term and this is not a means to that end. What can I say... I am cynic.

[Mergatroid Mania]

You sound more like a realist to me.

[woodygg]

You are incorrect. By definition, these are energy companies that almost exclusively deal in oil. They realize they must change and adapt and are making the investment in other forms of energy. That doesn't mean there's no PR motive to this specific project, there very well could be.

[b_baggins]

Oil is not evil, contrary to the propaganda you've been fed. And oil companies are also not evil, despite the propaganda you've been fed.

[ssharkman]

so what if they are in it for the money? if the government was run as well as exxon or halliburton, this would be a heavenly place.

[Cream Juicy]

Not evil? Oil and Satan both reside underground.

[vikinzer]

I have to say I would really like to see more work in this kind of area. The joy of algae is some of the methods for growing them use industrially produced CO2. So while the fuel does release carbon when it is burned, it first prevents carbon from being released into the atmosphere. I know there are technical hurdles not just to algae, but to growing it in this manner. Many companies are going to the fermentation no light no CO2 consumption route, but if it could consume CO2 as it was grown that would be a wonderful approach, and seems to me to avoid many of the problems associated with pumping CO2 into the earth.

[b_baggins]

Oh, for crying out loud. Algae uses CO2 to grow. By definition is it carbon neutral. This is the same asinine argument stating that eating meat contributes to global warming, as if the carbon in cows magically appears from pixie dust.

Of course, our planet is currently CO2 starved, but that's an entirely different topic for another day.

[sting7k]

Algae is a plant, to perform photosynthesis CO2 is required. Plants consume CO2.

[Vegaman_Dan]

This looks like a token project to show off to the world, "See how green we are?" After doing that for a bit and once the attention fades, the program will be cancelled and they will just concentrate on higher prices instead.

They have done it multiple times in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. All that solar power development, wind turbines, seaside tidal wave generators, etc. All the big oil companies have their pet projects that don't actually go anywhere.

[oilhog]

A $1,000,000,000 PR stunt to do what? To have the world keep using petroleum products? Please think before you post.

[Mergatroid Mania]

Considering how much money their CEO and top executives make, they could probably pay for this research out of their own pockets. Oh wait, what am I saying....filthy rich people making obscene amounts of money using it to help the world? I must have left the gas on.....

[joeytalia]

Up top my brotha!!!

[b_baggins]

Envy is quite a disgusting emotion. You'd be better served getting yourself rid of it.

[sosowhat]

Green Plains Renewable Energy or GPRE for those of you that know everything is also doing this next to their ethanol plant and it is not a big player like the other guys. Since I live 15 miles away it means there will be jobs for the economy in my area. Yes this is a token project but don't assume EM are the only ones pursuing this idea. There is also biomass fuels to consider besides using corn for ethanol as people seemed to think that using a food source for fuel would starve the world. At least algae is the color green instead of black like crude so there would not be another Exxon-Valdez fiasco.

[joeytalia]

Using Alge? Give Me a break.

Oil Companies want money and they already make hella money selling gas, so why change to alge?

[SooneratND]

Perhaps just planning to protect their future profitability. Every drop of new oil is becoming harder and more expensive to find and extract. (look up sources on Peak Oil) While rising costs will offset this expense in the near future (and even increase profits short-term), eventually, it will become so expensive that no one will be able to afford it. If they phsae out oil over a long period of time and start selling this algae fuel, they remain a viable company in the future.

[woodygg]

Stick to your day job.

[lcddown]

ExxonMobil??? care about the earth????

HAHAHAHA xD!

That's rich.

[lcddown]

ExxonMobil??? care about the earth????

HAHAHAHA xD!

That's rich.

[DMBoricua]

The world would be in danger of serious global warming before all of this "green car fuel" technology gets made in time to save the world. If they're so worried about it, why not make cars that run on water or vegetable oil and mass produce it for a very VERY low price and make everyone buy it? Even poor people?

[BenFlavoredCandy]

There is no way to make a car run on water alone. You need to put in energy to break the bonds between hydrogen and oxygen. The energy you get from joining them back together (like how a fuel cell is powered) is less than the original input energy.

Vegetable oil has less embodied energy than ethanol, which in turn has less than gasoline. Plus vegetable oil is definitely made from food sources, whereas ethanol can come from most natural fibers (some more efficiently than others).

If you want to be an environmentalist, be sure to get the facts first.

[b_baggins]

@benflavored,

Give it up. Anyone subscribing to anthropogenic global warming has already demonstrated an inability to think.

[sting7k]

@benflavored, your arguments while correct fall on the deaf ears of these people. They preach and preach but they do not actually know anything beyond the pamphlets they get handed on the street pointing to simple observations claiming it's global warming instead of actual scienfitic investigations.

[DMBoricua]

What about Hydrogen fuel? And Lithium Batteries? I dont know, but just come up with an alternative to gasoline as quick as possible and make the change as soon as it can be done!!

[oilhog]

Education of science IS seriously lacking. Ethanol not only makes food more expensive, but it is soaking up our most precious resource--water.
How do you think hydrogen is made? Electricity from coal and gas power plants is used to break the bonds between hydrogen and oxygen in water. Someone is then duped into thinking that they are saving the planet by driving a hydrogen vehicle, believing that the hydrogen just appeared without first using any energy and creating emmisions. As I hope you know, no machine or process is 100% efficient, and the energy used to create the hydrogen is less than you get when you burn it.

Algae is practical because it could be grown in salt water in massive quantities, uses only sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to grow, and we generally try to avoid eating it.

[darkebinary]

Exxon has been buying their own shares back aggressively to fund research projects such as these, and I'm for one am glad. Most of these energy start ups such as Green Fuel Technologies have great ideas, but will never have the funding or talent to survive. They always raise capital but never turn any profit, and eventually get swallowed up, or simply cease to exist. Exxon is a giant greedy oil company, but they do have money, and talent to make one of these projects work. This is a company that has massive engineering abilities. Don?t under estimate their ability to survive. They know that oil will be too hard to find and maintain a profit down the road. This is a company who?s dug themselves out of deep fuel crisis and recession before, and almost every time they come out on top. I know they aren?t on many people?s holiday card list. I also know their bottom line is more important to them than anything else, but if they do actually push this technology, and start making profit everyone else in the energy market will need to do the same to survive, including Shell, BP, Chevron, and anyone else involved in fuel production. Don't dismiss a company like this just because they aren't green, profit is often the best motivation for new technology.

[woodygg]

"Exxon has been buying their own shares back aggressively to fund research projects such as these"

huh?

that makes absolutely no sense.

either they use their funds to buy back stock OR to fund projects such as these... not both.

[darkebinary]

"that makes absolutely no sense.

either they use their funds to buy back stock OR to fund projects such as these... not both."

By buying back their own stock they push up the price of their stock, and make a return on the stock they own, which is currently about 15%. They can either keep and if their profits remain and continue to pocket the returns or dump it off later at a higher price.

[QA_Tester]

This merely accomplishes a few things: first and foremost is a great PR and second is a greater capacity. Remember China and India are still growing in their fuel needs and those two countries have a third of the worlds population (if not more). All ExxonMobil is doing is getting head start on the competition. Even though this is primarily a publicity stunt with world using more and more energy we will run out of oil, natural gas, and coal soon enough. And it might very well be that the type of publicity that ExxonMobil does is what will save them when we ran out of other means to power cars and everything else that uses combustion engine. Unless of course before then combustion engine will become obsolete by then. And even then we will need small amounts of fuels for people who kept "Classics".

[oilhog]

I don't get the whole PR stunt idea. Explain why a business that deals with extracting a COMMODITY needs plublicity. It's time the ignorant, uneducated, and confused American public takes pride in successful American businesses like Exxon. Exxon pays its employees very well and returns exorbant amounts of profits back into R&D, education, and charities.

OBTW...petroleum is used for more than just gasoline. Do a search for 'list of petroleum products'.

[dans105]

This has already been tested as jetfuel. Here's an interesting article:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/09/algae_airliner_test_success/

[Tod Smith]

Someone what's their stock to seem more valuable. Let them produce!

[Nerfus]

I work with Exxon on a Lithium Ion battery technologies that we have put into a car that is on exhibit at the Maryland Science Center. I think Exxon is well aware of alternative fuels. If you interested in giving one of the car a test drive you can come down and give it a shot.

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