algae feedstock

VG Energy is moving into production trials of its algae biofuel technology that may be the elusive metabolic lipid trigger to increase algal oil production.

Monsanto (NYSE: MON) has announced that it will be investing in Sapphire Energy, a company pioneering research and development in algae biofuel in an emerging sector called "Green Crude Production."

Just a week after The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) committed US$100 million to reduce its carbon footprint the company

Proprietary technology owned by VG Energy could create algal biofuel at costs competitive with current prices for conventional crude according to a report released by the company this week.

In the wake of Royal Dutch Shell's announcement that it is halting its investment in algal biofuels, the United States' fourth largest ethanol producer, Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc.

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) is moving out of the algal biofuel industry, at least for the short-term.

Algae derived biofuel is a potential game-changer, but most players are years away from competing with conventional fuel on price. Viral Genetics [VRAL] and their subsidiary VG Energy believe they may have found a way to dramatically reduce production costs using proprietary technology developed through their novel research on cancer.  

It was, in every sense, the Holy Grail of biofuels research, and one that scientists had been looking for since the early 1990s. So, of course, when Montana State University (MSU) researchers Keith Cooksey, Brent Peyton and Rob Gardner came upon it, they were amazed and ecstatic.

This is part III of my three-part Q & A with Mary Rosenthal, executive director of the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO).

Algae is one of the most promising components for the development of sustainable biofuels. A current stumbling block for algae as a fuel feedstock is it can be expensive and time-consuming to harvest.