This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.

January 23, 2013

Energy Department Offers $10 Million for Algae Biofuels

The Energy Department on January 17 announced the availability of up to $10 million in funding for projects that can help unlock the potential of biofuels made from algae. The funding will support research projects aimed at boosting the productivity of algae cultivation systems and demonstrating algae harvest and processing technologies, such as centrifugation and extraction. The Department encourages applicants from industry, universities, and national laboratories to apply by April 1, 2013.

These research projects will help maximize yield from algae and improve production of biofuel intermediates, which are the products of algae cultivation and pre-processing. Increasing the yields of biofuel intermediates will help lower the cost of biofuels while enhancing the sustainability of algal biofuels by capturing energy from every available part of the feedstock. At a large scale, these technologies could help speed commercialization of domestically-produced, cost-competitive biofuels from algae. A cost share of at least 20% of the total project cost is required. See the Energy Department Progress Alert.