ABO 2013 Industry Survey Shows Increased Production, Hiring
(Algae Industry Magazine) A new survey of the algae industry conducted by the Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) shows the industry expects increasing production in 2013 and price-competitiveness with fossil fuels by 2020. The survey also noted the critical role of supportive Federal policy required in order to accelerate hiring and production. The survey was conducted in January 2013 and includes responses from companies involved in directly producing and buying algae or algae-derived products, as well as equipment manufacturers, research laboratories, providers of equipment or materials, government agencies and service providers.
The survey of more than 470 algae industry contacts shows a sector that continues to grow: 67 percent of algae producers said they plan to expand capacity in 2013 as they work to provide the U.S with new sources of sustainable, domestically produced fuels and other algae-derived products.
Survey respondents remain positive about the prospects for cost-competitive algae fuels, reporting expectations similar to those in ABO’s 2012 survey. More than 90 percent overall (and 95 percent of producers) believe it is at least somewhat likely that algae-based fuels will be able to compete with fossil fuels by 2020; nearly 70% overall (75% of producers) believe it is moderately likely to extremely likely. Nearly 40% of producers project that algae-derived fuels will be priced at $5.00 per gallon or less by 2020. About 23% believe prices will be less than $3.00 per gallon by 2020.
The strong potential for algae to provide a diverse range of products other than fuels came through in response to a question about which algal products are being produced. While 28% of producers indicated they are targeting fuels markets, there are many that also use algae to produce feeds (35%), nutritional products or nutraceuticals (28%) and fertilizers (18%). READ MORE
