Transportation Fuels

Led by CEO Ross Youngs, Algaeventure Systems (AVS) has patented a cost-effective dewatering technology that separates micro-solids (algae) from water. Separating micro-solids from water traditionally requires a centrifuge, which uses significant energy to spin the water mass and force materials of different densities to separate from one another. In a comparative analysis, dewatering 1 ton of algae in a centrifuge costs around $3,400. AVS's Solid-Liquid Separation (SLS) system is less energy-intensive and less expensive, costing $1.92 to process 1 ton of algae.

Enzymes are required to break plant biomass down into the fermentable sugars that are used to create biofuel. Currently, costly enzymes must be added to the biofuel production process. Engineering crops to already contain these enzymes will reduce costs and produce biomass that is more easily digested. In fact, enzyme costs alone account for $0.50-$0.75/gallon of the cost of a biomass-derived biofuel like ethanol. Agrivida is genetically engineering plants to contain high concentrations of enzymes that break down cell walls.

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) will lead a MARINER Category 1 project to design and develop a semi-autonomous enclosure, called a seaweed paddock, to contain and grow mats of free-floating Sargassum, a brown seaweed species native to the eastern Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. One of the major cost drivers for production of macroalgae is the expense of the farming equipment, particularly anchors used to hold the farms in place in a particular spot in the ocean.

The University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) will lead a MARINER Category 3 team to develop a flexible macroalgae cultivation modeling system that integrates an open-source regional ocean model with a fine-scale hydrodynamic model capable of simulating forces and nutrient flows in various farming systems. Macroalgae farming systems will require significant capital. Investment and management decisions can be guided by the development of advanced modeling tools to help better understand the nature of macroalgae production within the context of specific ocean regions.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will lead a MARINER Category 1 project to design and develop replicable model farms capable of cost-effective production of sugar kelp, a type of macroalgae suitable for large-scale cultivation is U.S. ocean waters. Much of the cost of kelp farms is related to expensive anchor components, and the laborious process of installing and planting individual longlines between opposing anchors. Another 20% of the cost is ascribed to the harvest process and transport. The team plans innovations to reduce both equipment and operating costs.

Umaro Foods (formerly Trophic), together with Otherlab and the University of New Hampshire, will lead a MARINER Category 1 project to design and develop a rugged and resilient offshore seafarm with high yield and low capital cost. The advanced design includes a passive, wave-driven upwelling system that brings nutrient rich seawater to the surface of the ocean, dramatically increasing yields (higher concentrations of nutrients exist in deeper ocean water).

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will lead a MARINER Category 1 project to design, build, and field-test a Nautical Off-shore Macroalgal Autonomous Device (NOMAD), which is a free-floating, sensor-equipped, carbon-fiber longline (5 km) to which macroalgae can be attached for cultivation. The PNNL concept eliminates the significant costs associated with mooring, or anchoring, farms at a precise, invariable location in the ocean.

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) will lead a MARINER Category 1 project to design and develop a novel, robust seaweed growth system capable of deployment across the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The technology will enable precise positioning of large farm structures to maximize productivity and actively avoid surface hazards such as weather or marine traffic. The seaweed will grow while affixed to support ropes strung between concentric rings.

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will lead a MARINER Category 3 project to develop a set of numerical modeling tools capable of simulating hydrodynamics, mechanical stress, and trajectories of free-floating, unmoored macroalgae production systems. Macroalgae farming systems require significant capital and those investment decisions can be guided by the development of advanced modeling tools to help better understand the nature of macroalgae production.

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), located in Woods Hole, will lead a MARINER Category 1 project to design and develop a cultivation system for the tropical seaweed Eucheuma isiforme to produce biomass for biofuels. Eucheuma is a commercially valuable species of “red” macroalgae, primarily cultivated in Asia, which has been difficult to propagate in a cost-effective manner. Cultivation of Eucheuma is labor intensive — making up almost 70% of the production costs — and is limited to easily accessible areas near shore.