Algae ‘Blooms’ in Automotive Industry

November 26, 2018

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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) Mazda is investing in it. Honda is using it for R&D and potential byproducts. Algenol, AlgaEnergy and others grow and develop it. Euglena began producing it for biojet fuel at its new biofuel refinery plant in Japan. The U.S. government has a whole R&D department that is looking at this stuff. The list goes on. So why is algae living it up lately? It’s all about research and getting further down the path step by step with each discovery.

The vroom-vroom

Let’s start with the cars. Back in 2009, we saw the unveiling of the world’s first algae fuel-powered vehicle – the Algaeus – which was a plug-in Prius hybrid car, that ran on algae-based fuel from Sapphire Energy. Some say that was the beginning…

Mazda recently talked about algae being an important part of its “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030” initiative, as reported in NUU in October Their goal is simple – to promote the wide-spread adoption of biofuels from microalgae growth and reducing its average ‘Well-to-Wheel’ CO2 emissions to 50% of 2010 levels by 2030, and to 90% by 2050.

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Today, Honda R&D Americas, Inc. is running an algal farm onside at their Ohio Center.

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Even oil and gas giant, Exxon, said it could make 10,000 barrels a day of biofuel from algae within a few years. They are working with Synthetic Genomics to see if they could produce it on a massive scale. READ MORE

Farming Honda’s Future (Honda)

Mazda backing algae biofuel research (Green Car Congress)

Japan’s euglena first for seaweed standard (Algae Industry Magazine)