After $100 Million, Exxon Backs Off Algae as Fuel [View all]
Once upon a time -- way back in 2009 -- Exxon Mobil announced they were putting a whole bunch of money into algae. Yep, they were going to turn the goopy seaweed-type stuff you find in the ocean and washed up on the shore into a biofuel that would replace fossil fuels.
And it still might happen, but after spending $100 million in research, Exxon folks have decided it won't be happening just now.
The thing about the advent of biofuels is obviously they've been proved to work, but it's kind of hard to justify farmers continuing to get subsidized to grow corn and other crops for fuel when there's a world food shortage. Filling up your tank with ethanol tends to be a less virtuous enterprise when people are starving, and increasing numbers of farmers grow the biofuel stock instead of food. That's where algae comes in.
Hence the Exxon plan. Back in 2009, the company pledged to invest $600 million in algae fuel research, alongside Synthetic Genomics Inc. (run by the guy who is best known for successfully mapping the human genome.)
More at http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2013/06/after_100_million_exxon_backs.php .
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