Executive Summary; Algal Biofuels Roadmap

On December 9 and 10, 2008, the National Algal Biofuels Workshop was held in College Park, Maryland.  In May, 2010, a report based upon the workshop called National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap was published.  Below is the Executive Summary of the Roadmap.



"Developing the next generation of biofuels is key to our effort to end our dependence on foreign oil and address the climate crisis – while creating millions of new jobs that can’t be outsourced
— Secretary of Energy Steven Chu at the White Houseceremony on May 5, 2009, announcing $800 million in new biofuel research activities"

In recent years, biomass-derived fuels have received increasing attention as one solution to our nation’s continued and growing dependence on imported oil, which exposes the country to the risk of critical disruptions in fuel supply, creates economic and social uncertainties for businesses and individuals, and impacts our national security. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) established a mandatory Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requiring transportation fuel sold in the U.S. to contain a minimum of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels, including advanced and cellulosic biofuels and biomass-based diesel, by 2022. While cellulosic ethanol is expected to play a large role in meeting the EISA goals, a number of next generation biofuels show significant promise in helping to achieve the goal. Of these candidates, biofuels derived from algae have the potential to help the U.S. meet the new RFS while at the same time moving the nation ever closer to energy independence. To accelerate the deployment of advanced biofuels, President Obama and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the investment of $800M in new research on biofuels in the American Recovery and Renewal Act. This announcement included funds for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Biomass Program to invest in the research, development, and deployment of commercial algae-to-biofuel processes. Additional funding is being directed to algae-to-biofuel research both in EERE and other government agencies and programs.

The term algae can refer to microalgae, cyanobacteria (the so called “blue-green algae”), and macroalgae (or seaweed). Under certain conditions, some microalgae have the potential to accumulate significant amounts of lipids (more than 50% of their ash-free cell dry weight). These characteristics give great potential for an immediate pathway to high energy density, fungible fuels. These fuels can also be produced using other algae feedstocks and intermediates, including starches and sugars from cyanobacteria and macroalgae. In addition to fungible biofuels, a variety of different biofuels and products can be generated using algae precursors.

There are several aspects of algal biofuel production that have combined to capture the interest of researchers and entrepreneurs around the world. These include:

1) high per-acre productivity, 2) non-food based feedstock resources, 3) use of otherwise non-productive, non-arable land, 4) utilization of a wide variety of water sources (fresh, brackish, saline, marine, produced, and wastewater), 5) production of both biofuels and valuable co-products, and 6) potential recycling of CO2 and other nutrient waste streams.

The DOE-supported Aquatic Species Program, an effort undertaken from 1978 to 1996, illustrated the potential of algae as a biofuel feedstock. Much has changed since the end of the program. Rising petroleum prices and a national mandate to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, provide environmental benefits, and create economic opportunities across the nation have renewed interest in developing algal feedstocks for biofuels production.

While the basic concept of using algae as an alternative and renewable source of biomass feedstock for biofuels has been explored previously, a scalable, sustainable and commercially viable system has yet to emerge. The National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap Workshop, held December 9-10, 2008, was convened by DOE-EERE’s Biomass Program. The two-day event brought together more than 200 scientists, engineers, research managers, industry representatives, lawyers, financiers, and regulators from across the country to discuss and identify the critical challenges currently hindering the economical production of algal biofuels at commercial scale.

This document represents the output from the Workshop, supporting scientific literature, and comments received during a public comment period. The Roadmap document is intended to provide a comprehensive state of technology summary for fuels and co-products from algal feedstocks and to document the feasibility and techno-economic challenges associated with scaling up of processes. This document also seeks to explore the economic and environmental impacts of deploying algal biomass production systems at commercial scale. By documenting the challenges across the algal biomass supply chain and highlighting research and coordination needs and gaps, this document will serve to guide researchers and engineers, policymakers, federal agencies, and the private sector in implementing national research, development, and deployment efforts.

In summary, the Roadmap Workshop effort suggests that many years of both basic and applied science and engineering will likely be needed to achieve affordable, scalable, and sustainable algal-based fuels. The ability to quickly test and implement new and innovative technologies in an integrated process will be a key component to accelerating progress.

Electric Vehicles Come to Hawaii

Blog post from U.S. Dept. of Energy:

Hawaii Energy Program Brings Electric Vehicles to the Big Island

January 31, 2012 

Last July, Governor Neil Abercrombie unveiled the first public charging station installed in the state capitol’s underground parking garage with the "Hawaii EV Ready" program. In 2011, rebates were approved for 237 electric vehicles and 168 chargers. | Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor.

By 2030, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative will:

• Generate 40 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable energy sources.
• Implement energy efficiency measures to cut energy demand by 30 percent.

Hawaii is the most oil dependent state in the nation with more than 95 percent of its energy supplied by imported fossil fuels. Gas and electricity prices are also far above the national average. To increase its energy independence, Hawaii is revving up its state electric vehicle program, “EV Ready,” thanks to $4.5 million in funding from the Energy Department’s State Energy Program and the Recovery Act.

As part of the program administered by Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), residents and businesses can apply for rebates and grants to purchase electric vehicles and construct charging stations. In 2011, rebates were approved for 237 electric vehicles and 168 chargers.  

Last July, Governor Neil Abercrombie unveiled the first public charging station installed in the state capitol’s underground parking garage. Since then, five additional charging stations have been installed at state-owned buildings in Honolulu, and another eight chargers at the motor pool for the state's new fleet of electric vehicles.

The state awarded another $2.6 million in Recovery Act funds to six organizations charged with promoting, installing and deploying charging stations and electric vehicles across the state. Those organizations so far have installed 220 charging stations at 120 sites, introduced 18 EVs to public and private fleets, promoted the benefits of EVs to the hospitality industry and developed the "Hawaii EV Ready Guidebook."

Transportation fuel accounts for 30 percent of liquid fuel consumption in the state, or 75 million gallons per year. Measures associated with the EV Ready program aim to reduce Hawaii’s ground transportation fuel use by 70 percent by 2030.

The EV Ready program aligns with the goals of the broader Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI), a public-private partnership between Hawaii, the Energy Department and other governmental and private groups. The initiative intends to generate 40 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030, and implement energy efficiency measures to cut energy demand by 30 percent.

Companies Face Fines for Not Using Unavailable Biofuel

The following was gleaned from a January 10 New York Times article with the above title.

Companies Face Fines for Not Using Unavailable Biofuel

WASHINGTON — When the companies that supply motor fuel close the books on 2011, they will pay about $6.8 million in penalties to the Treasury because they failed to mix a special type of biofuel into their gasoline and diesel as required by law.

But there was none to be had. Outside a handful of laboratories and workshops, the ingredient, cellulosic biofuel, does not exist.

In 2012, the oil companies expect to pay even higher penalties for failing to blend in the fuel, which is made from wood chips or the inedible parts of plants like corncobs. Refiners were required to blend 6.6 million gallons into gasoline and diesel in 2011 and face a quota of 8.65 million gallons this year.

The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, aimed at reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, its reliance on oil imported from hostile places and the export of dollars to pay for it, includes provisions to increase the efficiency of vehicles as well as incorporate renewable energy sources into gasoline and diesel.

It requires the use of three alternative fuels: car and truck fuel made from cellulose, diesel fuel made from biomass and fuel made from biological materials but with a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gases. Only the cellulosic fuel is commercially unavailable. As for meeting the quotas in the other categories, the refiners will not close their books until February and are not sure what will happen.

The goal set by the law for vehicle fuel from cellulose was 250 million gallons for 2011 and 500 million gallons for 2012.  Even advocates of renewable fuel acknowledge that the refiners are at least partly correct in complaining about the penalties.

The standards for cellulosic fuel are part of an overall goal of having 36 billion gallons of biofuels incorporated annually by 2022. But substantial technical progress would be needed to meet that — and lately it has been hard to come by.

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