Bodega Algae and Bigelow Laboratory receive $150,000 US grant to develop algae for biofuel

25 January 2010

Massachusetts, US-based renewable energy company Bodega Algae and Maine-centred Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences have received a $150,000 six-month Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation to develop and test a prototype for growing high concentrations of algae for use as biofuel.

The grant will be used to develop advanced photobioreactors that cultivate algae by delivering optimal supplies of nutrients and light for growth, according to a statement..

‘Bodega is a developer of algae photobioreactors that grow high-energy algal biomass for use in the production of biofuel,’ said Sam Hill, Bodega Algae’s president. ‘The first phase of our SBIR project addresses the technical challenges involved in cultivating large amounts of algae needed for producing and using algal biofuel at an industrial scale.’

Many species of algae contain large amounts of lipids, which if companies can create the technology to grow algae on a large scale hold the key to a domestic source of renewable energy, said Bodega. Algae has applications ranging from aquaculture and nutraceuticals to bioremediation of chemicals and greenhouse gas reduction.

Dr Willie Wilson, senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory and interim director of the Laboratory’s Provasoli-Guillard Center for the Culture of Marine Phytoplankton, a micro algae repository on the east coast, will test methods of light delivery developed at Bodega Algae for their effect on cell growth rates for a range of algal strains.

‘A key goal of the project is to identify the best methods and design for capturing and sending light to algae in larger volumes under varying conditions in order to grow algae,’ said Wilson. ‘This grant gives us a chance to test methods to grow high volumes of algae quickly and efficiently. This would open one of the major bottlenecks in the production of biofuel.’

The central focus of Bodega Algae is the development of next-generation commercial algae photobioreactors for high-volume commercial production of algae biomass.

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is an independent, non-profit centre for global ocean research supported by federal research grants and private funds.

Copyright © 2010 NewNet

Tags: algae, biofuel

This story was published on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 6:52 pm and is filed under North America, biomass/biofuel, deals. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Bodega Algae and Bigelow Laboratory receive $150,000 US grant to develop algae for biofuel”

1. Jayson Anders says:

   3 February 2010 at 7:15 am

   There are many people developing open source algae reactors and processing info on the web. Check out algaegeek.com as a great example. http://algaegeek.com

Leave a Reply