Posts Tagged ‘Renewable Fuel’

South San Francisco’s Solazyme has made good on its promise to deliver 1500 gallons of algae-based jet fuel to the U.S. Navy.

Will military jets like this F-18 Super Hornet soon be flying on algal fuel?

Looks that way, one of these days. And actually, aviation biofuels soon could be coming to an aircraft near you.

All the deets:

Solazyme Delivers 100% Algal-Derived Renewable Jet Fuel to U.S. Navy

Biotechnology Company Showcases Solajet(TM) HRJ-5 Jet Fuel at the World-famous Farnborough International Air Show in UK

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 18  — Solazyme, Inc. is helping the U.S. military move  closer to powering its planes, ships, tanks and trucks on renewable fuel and has delivered of 1,500 gallons of 100% algae-based jet fuel for the U.S. Navy’s testing and certification program. The U.S. Navy has previously announced the objective to operate at least 50% of its fleet on clean, renewable fuel by 2020, and the delivery fulfills a contract awarded to Solazyme by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in September 2009.

Solazyme, a renewable oil and green bioproducts company and leader in algal biotechnology, manufactured the world’s first 100% algal-based jet fuel through its proprietary fermentation process in collaboration with renewable jet fuel processing technology from Honeywell’s UOP.  Solazyme’s renewable Solajet(TM)HRJ-5 is designed to meet all of the requirements for Naval renewable aviation fuel. In preliminary tests, it also meets the fuel requirements of the U.S. Air Force and meets the standards for commercial jet fuel.

“It has been an honor to work with both the Navy and DESC/DLA to provide the first microbial derived advanced biojet fuel that will aid the military’s transition away from fossil fuel and toward more secure, renewable and reliable sources,” said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO, Solazyme. “The military has recognized the national security imperative of creating alternative energy solutions, and this project reflects their leadership and vision in supporting new ways to power our Department of Defense.”

Solazyme’s algal fuel technology will help the DoD reduce its carbon footprint, minimize reliance on foreign oil, combat global climate change and pioneer the development of clean and renewable energy sources for national energy security.

Verified through external lifecycle analyses, Solazyme’s fuels provide an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional fossil fuels.  Prior to delivery to the Navy, the fuel was tested by an independent testing laboratory, and met all of the Navy’s 19 rigorous requirements for renewable hydrotreated jet fuel.  In addition, the fuel meets the proposed ASTM D 7566 specification for Aviation Turbine Fuels containing synthesized hydrocarbons, which is a critical milestone for providing fuels not only for the military, but also for the civilian market.

About Solazyme:

Solazyme, Inc. is a renewable oil and bioproducts company and the leader in algal biotechnology. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in South San Francisco, Solazyme’s unique technology enables the production of oil and biomaterials in standard fermentation facilities quickly, efficiently and at large scale. These oils and biomaterials are tailored to be drop-in replacements for fossil fuel and plant oils, which are feedstocks for a diverse range of products ranging from fuels and chemicals to personal care products.  Solazyme’s products offer compelling solutions to the increasingly complex challenges of fuel scarcity, energy security and environmental impact. These products fit seamlessly into the pre-existing multi-trillion dollar fuel infrastructure. Solazyme’s investors among others include Braemar Energy Ventures, Harris & Harris Group, Lightspeed VenturePartners, The Roda Group, and VantagePoint Venture Partners. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.solazyme.com/.

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As the folks who are making the next generation of ethanol made their pitch to Congress (see Cindy’s post from earlier), the people who are producing biodiesel from what could be the next great feedstock, algae, reminded members of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research not to forget about their truly green fuel.

Mary Rosenthal with the Algal Biomass Association told the representatives that despite some good progress for the algae biodiesel industry in recent years (not to mention the potential it holds), many of today’s federal biofuel policies simply ignore the role algae could play, limiting opportunities for funding and regulatory acceptance. She says she just wants a fair shake from the government:

Key to algae’s success in the fuels market will be ensuring:

1. Financial parity – Algae must receive the same tax incentives, subsidies and other financial benefits allowed to other first and second generation renewable fuels such as biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol.
2. Market parity – The federal renewable fuel standard will, for the foreseeable future, drive the U.S. market for renewable fuels. The current law focuses on corn ethanol in the near term and cellulosic ethanol over the long term. Algae based biofuels should be treated the same as cellulosic biofuels.
3. Regulatory parity – Algae must be recognized under the same regulations governing other traditional feedstocks, as an effective carbon reduction strategy and as safe for commercial production.
4. Appropriate treatment under federal climate change regulation – Algae production facilities can use CO2 from power plants and other emission sources to grow algae. This process can play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Put a price on carbon that will send the right signals to the finacial sector, green energy companies and others to support the commercialization of the algae industry.
5. Provide support for government incentives in R&D and commercialization. Support for the funding that has been made available through the stimulus and Renewable Fuel Standard are types of program that helps develop the market for advanced biofuels.

Rosenthal urged Congress not to miss the opportunity of developing a truly renewable, sustainable fuel that will create jobs, reduce pollution and increase national energy independence.

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It seems that algae biofuel producers are at disadvantage, because they are not recognized in the tax code as advanced biofuels makers. So the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) decided to take action and urged Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) to extend tax code parity to algae-based biofuels as soon as possible.
“Algae-based biofuel technology is advancing rapidly and is ready for commercialization. Production of algae-based biofuels can generate thousands of domestic green jobs in facility construction and operation and have the potential to greatly enhance our country’s energy and environmental security,” Brent Erickson, executive vice president for BIO’s Industrial and Environmental Section, stated.
“The Environmental Protection Agency’s recently released rules for the Renewable Fuel Standard recognize that algae-based biofuels can qualify as advanced biofuels and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasoline. Unfortunately, though, algae-based biofuel developers do not qualify for existing tax incentives for advanced biofuel development.”
“It is extremely challenging for algae-based biofuel start-up companies to attract the capital required for facility construction, due to this disparate treatment under the tax code. Fixing this discrepancy and granting algae-based biofuels tax treatment similar to other advanced biofuels can open the way to greater job creation and economic growth,” Erickson concluded.

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Millions of dollars have been spent on the quest for algae jet fuel. Look at the headlines Bill Gates to Exxon to our own federal government through DARPA are heavily invested.

Our countries President Obama is also just as green as Al Gore on alternative energy and the jobs the industry is creating. Bio Pioneers in green companies have developed algae biodiesel production and algae oil harvesting systems and equipment for growing algae and harvesting the algae in a very efficient manner for use in algae biofuels such as algae jet fuel.

Algae is plentiful and most of it is free, companies like CCA have created a dry process algae jetfuel from raw algae cake, not the oil. It is a unique approach to a global industry that contains military & commercial applications.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has identified approximately 300 species of algae, as varied as the diatoms (genera Amphora, Cymbella, Nitzschia) and green algae (genera Chlorella in particular) as potentially good sources of oil from algae. Diatoms, or Bacillariophytes, are unicellular, microscopic algae. These organisms are widespread in salt water where they constitute the largest portion of phytoplankton biomass. There exist approximately 100,000 known species around the world. More than 400 new specimens are described each year.

Algae Fuels will have an important role to play in renewable fuel plans for all countries around the world.

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