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Biotech's green gold?

Nature Biotechnology volume 27, pages 15–18 (2009)Cite this article

Algae have long been touted as a rich and ubiquitous source of renewable fuel but thus far have failed to be economically competitive with other sources of energy. Could new advances change that? Emily Waltz investigates.

The Carbon Trust's experience navigating algae excitement is one that funding groups and investors in the biofuels industry increasingly face. Encouraged by high oil prices and the push for alternative fuels and carbon trading, more than 100 such algae-to-fuel companies have popped up worldwide, mostly in the last couple of years, say industry experts. But, not a single commercial facility has been built, and an eagerness to be the first, plus the enticing investment along the way, has encouraged some entrepreneurs to overstate their capabilities. “Some of these operators and startup companies claim they can do anything under the sun,” says Tasios Melis, an algae researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.

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  1. New York

    Emily Waltz

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Waltz, E. Biotech's green gold?. Nat Biotechnol 27, 15–18 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0109-15

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