Turning Living Algae into Mini Oil Wells
The oil giant Exxon Mobil, whose chief executive once mocked alternative energy by referring to ethanol as “moonshine,” is about to venture into biofuels.
On July 21, Exxon announced an investment of $600 million in producing liquid transportation fuels from algae — organisms in water that range from pond scum to seaweed. The biofuel effort involves a partnership with Synthetic Genomics, a biotechnology company founded by the genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter.
New Scientist recently published the following interview with Mr. Venter about turning living algae into mini oil wells:
Algae that can turn carbon dioxide back into fossil fuel – it sounds too good to be [...]