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Exxon opens greenhouse for $600m algal biofuels program

The new greenhouse facility includes open ponds and closed bioreactor systems

Oil giant Exxon Mobil and its partner Synthetic Genomics, Inc., have opened a new greenhouse facility as part of their $600 million algal biofuels research and development program.

The new facility at SGI’s headquarters in La Jolla, California, will provide real-world conditions, taking the company’s algal biofuels technology out of the laboratory.

The facility includes open ponds and closed bioreactors to help evaluate the most productive strains of algae, and the most efficient production methods.

The project is looking at both natural and engineered strains of algae, cultivating them in various conditions.

Research includes work on various production processes, including harvesting and oil recovery.

Meaningful

Dr Emil Jacobs, vice president of research and development for ExxonMobil, said: “This is an important day in the early stages of our development program as we test the hypothesis that algae biofuels could become commercially viable and make a meaningful contribution to meeting future energy demand.”

The two companies have been working on the algae biofuels collaboration since July last year, and have already identified a large number of possible algal strains that might be made more productive.

ExxonMobil is to spend $600 million on the algal biofuels program over the next decade, with $300 million going to SGI.

The next major milestone will be the opening of an outdoor test facility mid-2011.