UK Carbon Trust awards $12.19 million to university consortium to drive algal biofuels to commercial reality

Biofuels Digest
March 19, 2010

In the UK, the Carbon Trust awarded $12.19 million to a consortium of 11 universities for a three-year project to establish the UK as a center for algal biofuels research and development. The goal of the group is to develop a process for manufacturing up to 18 billion gallons of algal fuel by 2030.

Carbon Trust CEO Tom said: “We have pulled together a dream team of over 70 UK algae scientists who have the expert knowledge to turn algae into a British biofuel success story, with a scheme that would require as much land as the principality of Wales, spread across key growth locations around the world. Key challenges set by the Carbon Trust are: Isolation and screening of algae strains; Maximising solar conversion efficiency; Achieving both high oil content and high productivity; Sustained algae cultivation in open ponds, and Design & engineering of cost effective production systems. The cost goal of the team is $3.78 per gallon or lower.

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