On the algae conference in Bangkok this year I met two Israeli scientists with deep knowledge and experience from algae research. No doubt – I think they are among the absolute top-league thought leaders globally. The issue I have with this article, however, is that the Israeli researchers I spoke with were very reluctant to the hype and over-optimistic projections made by industry participants.

TODAY, TEAMS of Israeli cleantech scientists and engineers are inventing the tools necessary to make deserts bloom with energy crops while mitigating the worst of the electric power industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. They are combining their cutting-edge knowledge of biochemistry, water management, desert agriculture and solar power to create this new industry.

We believe that algae farming in the US holds the promise of recycling one-fifth of its electric power industry’s greenhouse gas emissions, slashing its need for imported oil by 2 million barrels a day, and spinning off significant quantities of sustainable feed for growing fish and livestock to support the caloric needs of the world’s 6.5 billion people.

And the opportunities are even greater in China.

Algae is one of the world’s fastest-growing plants, and can thrive without fresh water or fertile land. Unlike many other biofuel feedstocks, it would avoid conflict with food production and rain forest conservation. And, of course, algae eat CO2 in vast quantities.

Solar energy turns two tons of CO2 into one ton of algae. And the industry is learning to stand on its own two feet.

As President Obama spoke at the UN, the experimental vehicle Algaeus rolled into New York City. The Algaeus’s 10-day inaugural trek showcased the ability to use today’s automotive technology – hybrid engines and algae-derived energy – to cross North America on 25 gallons of fuel, getting 148 miles per gallon.

The trip served as the capstone to the “Summer of Algae,” when energy giants Exxon Mobil, Pinnacle West and Dow Chemical each teamed up with corporate, university and government scientists to announce the launch of nearly a billion dollars’ worth of algae farming projects. None of this would have been possible without the toolkit developed by Israeli scientists and entrepreneurs.

via Israelis at the forefront of the green industry | Jerusalem Post.

SAN DIEGO, Oct 09, 2009 (North County Times – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — NCBH | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating — Just as the Ansari X Prize jump-started private space flight, a North County venture capital firm has started a competition to produce commercially viable fuel from algae.

The Algae Fuel Prize, offered by Del Mar-based Prize Capital, was announced at this week’s Algae Biomass Summit, a meeting in San Diego of experts in using algae for fuel, food, purifying water and other purposes.

The goal is to offer $10 million, the same amount as the Ansari X Prize, said Lee Stein, Prize Capital’s founder.

Stein said the actual amount may change, because the rules and guidelines for the prize aren’t final. But the main goal is fixed, he said, which is to add a new source of fuel and not to compete with food crops, as with ethanol made from corn.

“We want to work with third-generation biofuels: Land that cannot be used for food,” Stein said. “That was our primary concern.”

via NCBH Prize announced for commercial fuel from algae: $10 million incentive modeled after X-Prize for private space flight..

* Commercial biofuel from algae still 7 to 10 years off

* Companies look to gene-based methods for perfect strain

* Others focus on system design to grow algae

By Laura Isensee

SAN DIEGO, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Filling your vehicle’s tank with fuel made from algae is still as much as a decade away, as the emerging industry faces a series of hurdles to find an economical way to make the biofuel commercially.

Estimates on a timeline for a commercial product, and profits, vary from two to 10 years or more.

via Commercial green fuel from algae still years away | Reuters.

Article from 2006. Will be interesting to see what has happened to the companies mentioned – and why….

Overshadowed by a multibillion-dollar push into other “clean-coal” technologies, a handful of tiny companies are racing to create an even cleaner, greener process using the same slimy stuff that thrives in the world’s oceans.Enter Dr. Berzin, a rocket scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. About three years ago, while working on an experiment for growing algae on the International Space Station, he came up with the idea for using it to clean up power-plant exhaust.

via USATODAY.com – Algae like a breath mint for smokestacks.