Exxon Mobil to invest $600m in development of biofuel from algae
Fri 17 July 2009
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Exxon Mobil Corporation has announced an alliance with a leading biotechnology company, Synthetic Genomics Inc (SGI) to research and develop biofule from photosynthetic algae. Exxon Mobil says it expects to spend more than $600 million if research and development milestones for the project are met.
Exxon Mobil Research and Engineering Company has entered into a r&d alliance with SGI, a privately owned company founded by genome pioneer, Dr Craig Venter. The aim is to develop advanced biofuels from photosynthetic algae that are compatible with today’s gasoline and diesel fuels.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Dr Craig Venter said that the joint venture was "critical for the whole world" but warned that commercial deployment could be 10 years away.
"There has been so much hype and hope about the potential for algae that this announcement should act as a reality check for everyone," said Mr Venter to the FT.
Dr Venter said he expected that the algae used would have to be genetically modified.
It is claimed that algae can already produce almost 2,000 gallons of fuel per acre of land used, compared with just 250 gallons per acre for corn-based ethanol, but Exxon Mobil and SGI hope to raise this yield.
Emil Jacobs, Exxon's vice-president of research and development, said the company had spent two years evaluating options for investing in alternative energy, assessing their growth potential, technical challenges, environmental impact and chance of commercial viability. "Taking those parameters, biofuel from algae seemed to have the best potential," he said (reported by the FT).
The cost of biofuel produced from algae will need to be reduced significantly. One recent estimate suggested that biofuels currently produced from algae cost about $33 per gallon.
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