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Bio-energy: Interview notes from WORT radio (Madison, WI) 4/23/08

Posted by golden14
April 23, 2008

My resource notes for a radio interview on WORT (in beautiful Madison, WI) - looking at strategies to counter Peak Oil scenarios through the use of biologically derived energy. e.g. Algae/bacteria that produce biofuels or hydrogen

[First, an important question: Which is more likely to happen first - The ‘end’ of oil? Or the end of the combustion engine?
I think the logical tendency to deal with ‘peak oil production’ scenarios is to seek substitutes for liquid oil. I take a different approach- and ask- how do we eliminate the combustion engine which needs oil.

I prefer to explore futures in which the auto industry leaves the bulky, mechanical combustion engine behind for electric propulsion systems. These wheel based electric motors are likely powered by a combination of batteries, hydrogen fuel cells and capacitors. The industry’s motivation might not be to save the planet- but rather reduce manufacturing costs, increase performance, expand design options and tap electricity for in-car digital services. And remember, you cannot solve the oil gap shortage through wind/solar. Combustion engines require liquid fuels. Wind and solar producing electricity are no good there! Shift to an electric motor platform and renewables can produce electricity or hydrogen.]

For me, the conversation of how do we end the combustion engine era, is much more strategic. At the same time, I think it is critical to advance commercialization of next generation biofuels. Above all else, I am a big advocate of bioenergy.

So, let’s assume a future for combustion engines and demand for biofuels. Here are the resources from the radio interview:

Articles to Explore:

“15 Start ups to Watch” via Earth2Tech blog
“Algae Everywhere>.” via EcoGeek blog
“After 30 years, algae-to-fuel finally gets the green light” via GreenFuelsForecast

Blogs to Watch:

Earth2Tech
http://biopact.com/
http://gas2.org/
http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/
http://www.icis.com/blogs/biofuels/

Videos to Watch

1) CNN article / video on Valcent vertial bioreactors
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/

Interviews on www.greenenergytv.com
2) Renewable Biodiesel Algae - by Solazyme
http://www.greenenergytv.com/default.aspx?1472348255

3) Algae As Holy Grail of Biofuel - Valcent Products
http://www.greenenergytv.com/default.aspx?1472348255#1213892433

4) TED videos - search for:
Juan Enriquez: Why can’t we grow new energy?
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/193

And several by Craig Venter (on synthetic biology- designing microbes to maximize efficiency/performance)

Companies to Watch:

Aquaflow Bionomic, Virent, Nanologix, Inc., LS9, Renewable Synthetic Fuel (RSFuel), Amyris Biotechnologies, Synthetic Genomics, Coskata, Solix, Mascoma, Gulf Ethanol, Verenium, Iogen, Agrivida, Eirzyme, BioHydrogen (UK), UOP, BioMaxx, Chevron, Aurora Biofuels: – and dozens of other companies.

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Information: April 23rd, 2008; 2 Responses

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Categories: Uncategorized; Future of Energy; Nanoscale Science & Engineering; Future of Biology; Future of Transportation; Future of Cities; Future of Technology

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Reader Comments

Comment Number:: 1
Written by:: bjherod
Posted on:: May 7, 2008 at 3:14 pm

Garry,

Very interesting blog. I’ve put it on my feed list.

All the talk about algae biofuels is kind of spooky. My dad worked for Exxon and I remember him telling me about their research into fuel from algae. I thought he was crazy at the time.

Brian

Comment Number:: 2
Written by:: golden14
Posted on:: May 11, 2008 at 8:57 pm

Brian,
Good to see your comment! We’ll have to catch up soon! Yes, bio energy does sound strange, but ‘growing energy’ is what nature does. Oil is the result of biological energy process. It is water living bacteria feeding off of sunlight and eating carbon (plus). Then they sank to the bottom of the sea and got crushed by time/pressure into hydrocarbons. So oil is ‘ancient bioenergy’ (not just ‘ancient sunlight’) Now if we can speed it up and get carbon eating ‘bugs’ to do the work, it’s a great strategy in my book!
Be well - Garry

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Bio-energy: Interview notes from WORT radio (Madison, WI) 4/23/08

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