Thursday July 16, 2009

Exxon Mobil partners Synthetic Genomics to make biofuel from algae

news.cnet.com :

Exxon Mobil and biotech firm Synthetic Genomics (SGI) announced on Tuesday [14 Jul 2009] a new alliance to produce alternative fuel made from photosynthetic algae. Exxon Mobil expects to spend more than $600 million on the project. Under the partnership, SGI will research and develop systems to grow large amounts of algae and convert them into biofuels. Exxon Mobil will provide engineering and scientific talent, from increasing the level of algae production to manufacturing the final product.

In an economic climate that has made life tougher for alternative-energy companies, Exxon Mobil 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. Other 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.

- With crude oil prices having fallen from the $147.27 high, it is a wonder that alternative energy efforts are having any traction at all. Bearing in mind the "400-year issue", it all seems rather pointless. Even if they could get a reasonable EROEI out of this. Meaning energy return on energy invested is a number that is hopefully larger than 1. Peakoilers and others alike may well choose to read this any way we will, but to me throwing upward of $600 million at this seems ... kind of odd. Look at it this way : in terms of alternative or renewable energy - Shell is into wind and solar, BP has got BP Solar, Total is going nuclear, and ... Exxon Mobil is trying to produce biofuel from algae. Hmmph. Until this thing can start showing kbpd (kilo barrels per day) or MWh (megwatt-hour) or equivalent production figures, well, color me skeptical.

See also :

1. So much for biodiesel
2. Hazy days and palm oil
3. Scientists weigh downside of palm oil
4. Virgin Atlantic to fly a 747 plane on biofuel

(2009-07-16 16:13:41 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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