“We see ourselves as a very cheap way to supplement [energy supply],” Woods said. “And the more cheap ethanol we have, the more we’re winning in efforts to have independence from foreign fuel.”
Woods announced a partnership with Dow Chemical in July to build a demonstration plant and expects to launch commercial production by 2011.
Some experts don’t see algal fuel replacing fossil fuels completely, and some have become leery of hype.
The idea of harnessing algae for fuel has been around for decades, they say. Still, no one has been able to make it financially feasible.
“Any fantastic claims will eventually discredit the field if given much credence,” algae expert John Benemann said.
Instead, he sees algae as a good source for animal feeds, chemicals and fertilizer.
Back at FIU, Philippidis agreed “there is no silver bullet” to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
But he saw promise on the horizon, especially as larger companies become involved in algae research.
“We are still at an early stage ... but as we scale up [production] I think costs will come down very, very quickly,” he said.
And if that works, he added, “there is a small Greek island I would like to buy.”
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