Can algae — the green slime that forms on the top of stagnant pools — reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be the source of a new renewable bio-fuel? The Holy Grail in the renewable energy sector has been to create a clean, green process which uses only light, water and air to create fuel.

Vertigro Energy is a joint venture between Global Green Solutions and Valcent Products. Vertigro’s algae-to-biofuel technology mass produces algae and extracts algae oil. This oil can be refined into a cost-effective, non-polluting diesel biofuel. The algae derived fuel will be an energy efficient replacement for fossil fuels and can be used in any diesel powered vehicle or machinery. In addition, 90% by weight of the algae is captured carbon dioxide, which is “sequestered” by this process, contributing significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gases.

The Vertigro technology was developed in response to a huge unsatisfied demand for vegetable oil feedstock by biodiesel refiners and marketers. Biodiesel, in 2000, was the only alternative fuel in the United States to have successfully completed the Environmental Protection Agency required Tier I and Tier II health effects testing under the Clean Air Act. A U.S. Department of Energy study has shown that the production and use of biodiesel, compared to petroleum diesel, resulted in a 78.5% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

For more information, please visit: www.valcent.net

Duration : 0:4:54

Technorati Tags: 29815, Algae, bio-fuel, biofuel, diesel, emissions, energy, gas, greenhouse, Multivu, non-polluting, reduce, Vertigro

First car powered by algal biodiesel to demonstrate real-world driving at Sundance

Solazyme, Inc., a synthetic biology company unleashing the power of aquatic microbes to create clean and scalable solutions for biofuel, industrial chemical, and health and wellness markets, today revealed the first ever algae-derived biodiesel fuel (Soladiesel™) to have undergone road testing by successfully powering a factory-standard automobile for long distances under typical driving conditions. The car and fuel will make their public debuts at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where they are also featured in Fields of Fuel, Josh Tickell’s documentary about renewable fuels. Soladiesel biodiesel is clean, renewable, environmentally sustainable and scalable.

Duration : 0:3:24

Technorati Tags: 30888, Algae, algal, Based, biodiesel, car, Multivu, Renewable, Solazyme