New EU-funded FUELGAE project aims to resurrect algae as a promising source for aviation biofuels
A microalgae pilot plant will be built at an ArcelorMittal steel
plant in Romania and at a biorefinery in Spain. FUELGAE project
technologies will be further evaluated through life-cycle analysis to
confirm their lower environmental impact, resource use and GHG
emissions. In addition, the project will include studies of hydrothermal
liquefaction and biogas processes. To minimise by-products, the biochar
produced in the hydrothermal process will be tested for use as an
agricultural soil enhancer. All technologies, says the consortium, will
be extended to Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL5).
The development of chemical technologies using catalysts (materials
that facilitate chemical transformations) for the conversion of biocrude
and lipids into advanced fuels will also be investigated. “Such
technologies are necessary for the conversion of difficult-to-handle and
low-value materials into high-quality advanced fuels, which can be used
in heavily polluting and difficult to decarbonise sectors, such as the
air and maritime transport sectors,” says the consortium.
FUELGAE, which brings partners together from six European countries,
is being led by Silvia Morales de la Rosa of CSIC. “The project
represents a new approach to eliminating CO2 emissions and transforming
them into advanced liquid fuels,” she commented. “Novel
multi-disciplinary technologies will be developed based on the capture
of CO2 from microalgae, together with studies of evolutionary adaptation
of microalgae, novel biomass treatments to obtain lipids and sugars,
and the development of high-efficiency multifunctional catalysts to
obtain biofuels. These technologies will evolve to a subsequent scaling
for their future commercialisation at the end of the project.”
In March 2022, a first-of-its-kind biorefinery opened in Istanbul,
Turkey, that processes algae biomass to develop different products and
technologies for multiple sectors, including fuel. Located inside the
campus of Bogazici University, adjacent to the Black Sea where all the
algae production takes place, the 2,500-square-metre facility has a
capability to process around 1,200 tons of wet algae mass per year. The
€6 million project is 85% funded by the EU and 15% by the Turkish
Ministry of Industry and Technology.
In the US, the non-profit Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) believes
algae has an important role to play in decarbonising aviation. “A decade
ago, there was a frenzy of interest in algae for fuel that stirred up
investments and lofty promises by a number of startups – all based on
very exciting, but also preliminary, technical analysis of how
efficiently algae could be used to turn sunlight, water and fertiliser
into fuel. Unfortunately, those promises gave way to delays, then
frustration and, finally, outright scepticism on whether the fuels would
ever work,” posted the ABO in January 2022.
“Yet over the past ten years, the algae industry has quietly been
overcoming the hurdles. There has been no single breakthrough to make
headlines. Instead, dozens of new innovations across the board have
improved efficiencies, streamlined processing and boosted production
possibilities. The emergence of algae as a highly productive, innovative
agricultural crop offers an opportunity of scalability and carbon
efficiency that is poised to make a dent.”
Based on a recent resource and sustainability assessment of US-wide
algae production potential, the ABO estimates over 20 billion gallons of
SAF could be produced across a collection of 1,000 large algae farms.
