DOE Sees Long Road Ahead for Algae Fuels

The New York Times
By JENNY MANDEL of Greenwire
Published: June 29, 2010

Biofuels squeezed from the cells of purpose-grown algae hold promise to help meet the country's need for non-petroleum fuels, but the technology is at an early stage and will require years of development to reach commercialization, the Energy Department said in a report finalized yesterday.

DOE's "National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap" was released in final form yesterday after a year of public comment and revisions on a draft.

The document (pdf), which aims to summarize the state of technology today and point to directions for future work, dives into great detail on the biology of various kinds of algae, means of cultivating and harvesting them, and how they can be processed into fuel.

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