US funding for algae biofuel development
The U.S. Department of Energy has opened a $25 million funding opportunity for algae biofuels. The initiative aims to reduce the cost of algae biofuel to less than $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent by 2019. The DOE has set a goal to achieve a cost of $3 by 2030.
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will fund Targeted Algal Biofuels and Bioproducts projects with 25 million US$ with the aim to overcome two key barriers to commercializing algal biofuels: the high cost of producing algal biomass and the low yield of target biofuel and bioproduct feedstocks produced from algae. The call will support:
1) the development of algae cultures that produce valuable bioproducts alongside fuels to increase the overall value of the biomass; and
2) the development of crop protection and CO2 utilization technologies to boost culture productivity and yield to reduce the cost of the biomass.
