NEWS BRIEFS
Exxon Mobil announces biofuel investment
Green Energy produced by algae is meaningful solution
By Richard Zelbersman with Simon Grazer
PORTLAND, OR
Exxon Mobil is announcing a major investment in greenhouse-gas-reducing biofuels.
The oil giant reported this week that it had entered into an alliance with Synthetic Genomics to develop biofuels from photosynthetic algae.
The Company plans to spend more than $600 million on the project, with an eye on developing a product that is compatible with current gasoline and diesel fuels. Exxon also noted that the main challenge facing the project is the ability to produce enough of the biofuel to meet commercial demand.
The world’s growing energy demands will require a multitude of technologies and energy sources. Biofuel produced by algae, with California-based Synthetic Genomics, could be a meaningful part of Exxon's solution, if efforts result in an economically viable, low net carbon emission transportation fuel that is sustainable and meaningful to the planet.
Along with the natural oils it produces, algae is said to be desirable as a biofuel source because, as Exxon Mobile notes, it does not need fresh water or arable land to thrive.
© 2009 Richard Zelbersman/Garden of Healing®. All rights reserved.
