Terri Somers’s April 29 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune announcing the formation of the new San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology (SD-CAB) included some interesting nuggets about the impact the green stuff is already having on the local economy. Quoting a recent assessment by the San Diego Association of Governments, the article states that about 272 scientists and other workers here are already involved in researching the potential of algae for use as a biofuel, generating nearly $16.5 million in payroll and $33 million in economic activity.
Of course, that’s chump change compared to the predictions of the economic gusher that will shower the region should the scientists solve the essential problem of algae-to-fuel production. That problem is not how to do it, but rather how to do it at least 15 times more cheaply than is current possible. Instead of $30 a gallon, the going rate for algal-derived biofuel would have to drop to under $2. It’s such a knotty problem that after funding an algae program from 1978 to 1996, the U.S. Department of Energy concluded it was insoluble, according to a recent Voice of San Diego report on the local San Diego algae boosters.
The newly formed “center” sounds like it’s really just a lobbying group at the moment, one hoping to grab some of the $800 million in Department of Energy stimulus money, along with state and local investment. All the big local techno-guns are on board, including UCSD, the Scripps Research Institute, the Salk Institute, San Diego State University, and the algae start-ups already in operation. The biggest among those start-ups is Sapphire Energy, which last year received $100 million in venture capital and employs 80 people. General Atomics is another significant player. It expects to receive $40 million the Pentagon over the next three years, and currently has about 40 folks studying the slimy stuff.
Besides the technological challenges, making algae the green fuel of the future instead of ethanol will require some political muscle to counter the formidable corn-farming agribusiness interests. The new SD-CAB would seem to be a warm-up for that.
