Algae Biofuel Not One of Ford's Better Ideas -- At Least Not Yet
Ford says that its future cars may be running on algae, and this quick-growing lower form of life has certainly got some biofuel buzz, legislative interest and significant investment behind it. Futurists love its brave new world aspects. But when it comes to payback time, algae haven't delivered much so far.
Algae, which can be grown in a variety of environments, including both fresh and salt water, is amazingly prolific, and can use photosynthesis to efficiently convert carbon dioxide to oil and other components, resulting after refinement in bio-engineered gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Algae grow a lot faster than such better-known biofuel feedstocks as corn or soybeans, and that raises the useful picture of producing transportation fuels on the surface of slime-covered ponds. It can also be produced on marginal lands unfit for other "crops," which is a big advantage over the aforementioned corn or soybeans. And soybean production can destroy healthy forests. Here's a video look at how algae production works:
Sherry Mueller, a Ford research scientist, says that that algae "has some very desirable characteristics as a potential biofuel feedstock, and Ford wants to show its support for any efforts that could lead to a viable, commercial-scale application of this technology." A Ford delegation recently visited the National Biofuels Energy Laboratory at Wayne State University in Detroit, and Ford scientists are studying approaches to making the fuel viable.
But no one expects algae cars anytime soon. Tim Wallington, technical leader for research and advanced engineering at Ford, admitted to me that "many challenges must be overcome" before algae is commercially viable. For it to be widely available in the next decade, he said, there would have to be "major advances in genetic engineering and improvements in production systems." One of the big hurdles is trying to get algae -- which are, after all, living organisms -- to grow predictably and reliably.
Algae has seen stumbling blocks. A 10-year National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study was terminated in 1996, because algae fuel was not proving price-competitive with gasoline. Higher oil prices have stimulated interest again. The Green Jobs Act of 2010 contains investment tax credits for algae biorefineries.
Many companies have liked the green glow of algae: According to Biofuels Digest, BP invested $10 million in startup algae producer Martek. ExxonMobil poured $600 million into a joint venture with Synthetic Genomics. Sapphire Energy and Solazyme have both attracted more than $100 million in investment capital.
But an Emerging Markets Online survey disclosed that less than 25 of the 80 companies in the algae space have moved from the lab stage to the pilot plant stage, and "few have been able to convince investors to risk placing $1 million or more to make this necessary transition."
Ford isn't disclosing the size of its research budget for algae, which is part of a broader biofuels effort that also includes cellulosic ethanol (expected to be far more productive than the corn-based variant, but also a longer-range investment). The company has built three million vehicles capable of running on E85 ethanol, but most of them run on gasoline the majority of the time. The latest 2011 F-Series Super-Duty trucks powered by 6.7-liter diesels can run on B20, which is a blend of 80 percent diesel and 20 percent biodiesel.
Henry Ford was famously an alternative fuels pioneer, and built a test electric vehicle with his friend, Thomas Edison that unfortunately never saw production. Ford also built a car with soybean-based body panels, and personally smashed them with a sledgehammer to prove their durability.
Algae is worth investigating, but it may not be one of Ford's "Better Ideas." At least not yet.
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Photo: Flickr/Sandia Labs