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Cultures of algae growing in Susan Golden’s lab at UC San Diego. Credit: UC San Diego
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The U.S.
Department of Energy has awarded a consortium of universities and companies
headed by biologists at UC San Diego up to $9 million over the next three years
to conduct basic research that will pave the way toward making biofuels from
algae a viable and competitive alternative to gasoline for our nation’s
transportation fuel.
The $9
million in federal funds are being supplemented by $3 million from a consortium
of biotechnology and energy companies, providing a total of $12 million for the
three year research effort that will begin this summer.
“Algae are
a promising source of renewable alternative transportation fuels and this award
firmly establishes San Diego
as a hub for algal biofuels research,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne
Fox.
“This
grant as well as other recent algal biofuels awards to local companies over the
past year validates San Diego as one of the major centers for algal research in
the country,” said Stephen Mayfield, a professor of biology and head of the San
Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, a consortium of local research
institutions and commercial partners formed last year and known as SD-CAB.
Algal
biofuels research is already having a positive impact on the region’s economy.
Research on algal biofuels now employs 410 scientists and other workers in San Diego and provides
nearly $28.8 million in payroll and $56.2 million in economic activity for the
region, according to an economic assessment completed earlier this month by the
San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, Service Bureau.
Direct
spending on algal biofuels, combined with the additional jobs and spending in
related service industries is currently responsible for 784 jobs, $44.6 million
in wages and $108.3 million in economic output in the San Diego region, according to the SANDAG
study.
Mayfield,
who will also lead the DOE research effort, said the $3 million per year in DOE
funding will go to research laboratories at UCSD, UC Davis, the University of
Nebraska and Rutgers University for research to develop new approaches to algal
crop protection, improve nutrient recycling in growing algae as well as for the
development of new genetic tools to improve the production of fuel from algae.
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A researcher in Susan Golden’s lab at UC San Diego examines streaks of algae. Credit: UC San Diego
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“These are
the three most important areas right now for the development of algae for
biofuel production,” he said. “This basic research will enable us to make
significant improvements in the production of bioenergy from algae.”
The
additional $3 million to the project will be provided by seven commercial
partners—Sapphire Energy, Sempra Energy, Life Technologies, General Atomics,
Chevron, Praxaire and W.R. Grace.
The
announcement of the DOE award was made today by U.S. Department of Energy
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Cathy Zoi. Funding
for the UCSD-led consortium will complement existing algal research,
development and demonstration projects supported by DOE’s Biomass Program.
“Partnerships
such as these allow the unique capabilities of individual entities to be
brought together to hasten the development of new technology in algal
biofuels,” she said in DOE’s press release.
The SANDAG
analysis was paid for by SD-CAB and CleanTECH San Diego, a non-profit
corporation formed to accelerate San
Diego's position as a world leader in the clean energy
economy. More information on SD-CAB and a copy of the 2010 SANDAG analysis can
be obtained at: http://algae.ucsd.edu/
SOURCE
