Bill Gates Invests in Algae-Based Biofuels
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 09.17.08
Windows Money for Algae Fuels
Bill Gates' Cascade Investment is putting money in Sapphire Energy, one more firm (see 15 Algae Biofuels Startups to Watch) trying to make second generation biofuels out of algae. The company announced that it has raised more than $100 million. Not bad for a 1-year old company.
"The San Diego-based company hopes to make commercial amounts of the fuel in three to five years for a cost of $50 to $80 per barrel. Sapphire selects and genetically modifies algae to maximize their internal production of lipids, or fats and then squeezes that from algae. It says the oil can be used in refineries like normal crude."
The money more than doubles initial investor of about $50 million the company got in June.
Production Goals
It plans to produce about 10,000 barrels a day, and last May it announced that it succeeded in creating "ASTM-certifiable 91 octane gasoline", the premium fuel at the pump, from algae.
Now it just needs to do so cheaply and greenly. Another company to watch in the algae field is Solazyme.
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I like it!!!
i knew it was only a matter of time before a big billionair like Gates got involved in this, this is great
I'd like it except that I think the money could be better spent elsewhere, developing storage technology for electricity generated by solar power, even if that means synthesizing our own fuels. Why? Because of this:
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1454/70/
If we want a viable solution, we ought to take that into consideration.
I keep hearing "genetically modified" with algae bio-fuel production. How is this done? Sounds as frightening as GM foods, considering algae can wipe out lakes, etc. without GM. What's the story here, any?
Okay, it's a start, but the US uses 20mbpd of oil, so 10K is just a drop in the bucket. 1mpbd of production would be something worth celebrating.
Nothing can make up for the travesty of a commercial that Gates and Seinfeld have going right now...
In all seriousness though, this is pretty cool. It's really good to see major investors that are not directly tied to big energy getting behind alternative fuel technologies. I wish they got subsidized as much as the oil and coal industries. On the bright side, it seems that any way you slice it, alternative energy is on the rise!
@Berkana: The ecogeek article does mention the usefulness of biofuel as part of a comprehensive energy plan, despite it's shortcomings, ie higher land use requirements. Some land is ill suited for solar and wind power and would be BEST suited for planting. Also, consider the fact that it will take decades to change over to a full electric economy, and you can see that biofuel is a necessary solution.
I think he knows what he is talking about when it comes to algae biodiesel. Now I just want to see him explore methane digesters for biogas.