Oil and gas company ExxonMobil, whose chief executive Rex Tillerson called the idea of ethanol as a biofuel "moonshine" in 2007, last week announced a US$600-million research alliance to develop biofuels from photosynthetic algae.
The multi-year project sees Exxon team up with Synthetic Genomics, the biotechnology company in La Jolla, California, co-founded by Craig Venter, which numbers another oil and gas giant, BP, among its investors.
Synthetic Genomics will receive $300 million — more, if deemed successful — to develop high-yielding algal strains and their large-scale cultivation. Exxon is spending an equal sum internally on engineering and manufacturing expertise to support the research.
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ExxonMobil invests in algae for biofuel. Nature 460, 449 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/460449b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/460449b
