ExxonMobil , SGI build hopes on algae biofuels

ExxonMobil Corp. and Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) have jointly opened a greenhouse facility in La Jolla, Calif., to enable the next level of research and testing in their algae biofuels program. SGI and ExxonMobil researchers are using the facility to test whether large-scale quantities of affordable fuel can be produced from algae. “The team has already made great strides in evaluating various strains and growth conditions for algae and we are eager to continue and expand this important research as we plan for the next stages of scale up,” said J Craig Venter, founder and chief executive officer for SGI. The algae biofuels program, which was launched in July last year by ExxonMobil and SGI, has made substantial progress that includes isolating and engineering a large number of candidate algal strains and developing growth conditions under which these strains could be made more productive. The next major milestone in the program is expected in mid-2011. (July 15, 2010)