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ExxonMobil Launches Major Advanced Algal Biofuel Research and Development Program With Synthetic Genomics; More than $600M Targeted
Green Car Congress — ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE) has launched what it calls a “significant” new program to research and develop advanced biofuels from photosynthetic algae that are compatible with today’s gasoline and diesel fuels. As part of the program, ExxonMobil has formed a strategic research and development alliance with Synthetic Genomics Inc., a privately held company focused on developing ...

ExxonMobil Bets on Algae in First Major Biofuel Investment
TreeHugger — ... significant. Among other advantages, readily available sunlight and carbon dioxide used to grow the photosynthetic algae could provide greenhouse gas mitigation benefits. Growing algae does not rely on fresh water and arable land otherwise used for food production. And lastly, algae have the potential to produce large volumes of oils that can be processed in existing refineries to manufacture fuels that are compatible with existing transportation technology and infrastructure. More: ExxonMobil Biofuels ...

Two big green news: Exxon and Myriant
The Energy Collective — While I was fiddling with GM's Chevy fuel cell car yesterday, two big green chemical news broke out: One from Myriant Technologies and the other from ExxonMobil. Renewable chemical manufacturer Myriant announced that it has successfully piloted their biobased succinic acid process validating its commercial viability. Their succinic acid is derived from the company's D(-) lactic acid technology and has been in development for four years. Myriant said its next step is to produce ton-sized samples for its customers to verify product specifications and quality. Succinic acid is used as a building block in the production of chemicals such as plastics, resins, deicers, solvents and ...

Big Algae?
Energy Outlook — In spare moments during the last week I've been mulling over the implications of ExxonMobil's announcement of a very large investment in research and development on producing biofuels from algae, in collaboration with a leading biotech firm, Synthetic Genomics, Inc. While the reported figure of $600 million wouldn't buy much in the way of actual deployment, it could sure pay for a heck of a lot of R&D. The joint conference call about the announcement emphasized that the companies will be pursuing several possible technological pathways, though all appear to be focused on producing biofuel from algae continuously, rather than in a batch mode more analogous to farming. That would certainly increase the ...

Big Algae?
The Energy Collective — In spare moments during the last week I've been mulling over the implications of ExxonMobil's announcement of a very large investment in research and development on producing biofuels from algae, in collaboration with a leading biotech firm, Synthetic Genomics, Inc. While the reported figure of $600 million wouldn't buy much in the way of actual deployment, it could sure pay for a heck of a lot of R&D. The joint conference call about the announcement emphasized that the companies will be pursuing several possible technological pathways, though all appear to be focused on producing biofuel from algae continuously, rather than in a batch mode more analogous to farming. That would certainly increase the ...