The DOE intends to develop biofuels that can act as drop in replacements for diesel and gasoline and believes that domestic sources -- including both cellulosic ethanol and algae-based fuels -- can match almost 100 percent of the U.S. demand. Biomass Magazine has reported that the agency has solicited $50 million for algal biofuel development through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The goal is to apply the monies to develop a consortium of research and development teams that will aggregate all the experts and apply their work to key targets. Currently, the DOE hopes to accelerate the development of hydrocarbon-based biofuels, targeting a pilot scale rollout at the end of five years. DOE hopes algae-based fuels could hope to be at the same stage within about ten years if funds are released to allow development of a consortia-based research program. Algae's potential productivity far outpaces that of land-based crop productivity (corn), but hurdles remain and the DOE has set deadlines.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/doe-moving-on-biofuel