We’ve been writing about algae fuel for over a year here at Energy Refuge, so we were pleased to read this report saying that this fledgling industry has been expanding at a steady pace. The claim is based on the number of participants at the recent Algae Biomass Summit in Seattle (October 23-24), which doubled from 350 in 2007 to 700 people in 2008.
The event sounds more like a networking opportunity for industry representatives than a science forum, but one thing in the aforementioned report called my attention: the interest that the commercial aviation market is showing in this type of clean fuel. The Boeing Company, Airbus, UOP (a Honeywell Company) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines were present to describe the “steps they are taking to address carbon dioxide emissions related to air travel, including the use of algal-based jet fuel.”
“Whether for use in commercial aviation or transportation, we’ve seen this week that algae-based biofuels will have a role to play,” said Billy Glover, managing director of Environmental Strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and co-chair of the Algal Biomass Organization. “The success of this year’s conference was due to the powerful blend of leaders from science, finance and business, coming together to discuss real solutions utilizing algae.”
If you know anything about algae fuel, leave your thoughts via the comments box. We’d love to learn more about the technology involved and its application.
