Awake at the Wheel

We’ve been hearing it for decades: the next breakthrough fuel technology is just around the corner. Hydrogen, electric, fuel cells–all have shown promise to free the world from its dependence on fossil fuels. Yet for one reason or another, we wait and wait for the automakers to catch up or the technology to perfected. Meanwhile, in a relatively short-span, researchers have developed a method of extracting oil from algae and converting it to a viable fuel source. What makes algal biodiesel different from the aforementioned panaceas? Consumers will not need to wait on Detroit to take advantage of it as the current and future fleet of diesel vehicles will be able to use it with no conversion required. More importantly, algae is a rapidly renewable biodiesel feedstock that does not compete with food sources like soy beans or corn. Leading the way is Solazyme, a bioenergy upstart out of San Francisco, in a unique partnership with Chevron. Unique because instead of eschewing the help of big oil, Solazyme founders Jonathan Wilson and Harrison Dillon embraced Chevron’s R&D muscle as way to accelerate algal-biodiesel’s path to widespread commercial use. For more information check out this post from Wired magazine, and be sure to watch the trailer to “Fields of Gold,” the biodiesel documentary produced by biodiesel advocate Josh Tickell.