May 2009 Archives

The Economist has an interesting online debate forum, and this week's topic was biofuel-powered vehicles versus those powered by electricity. After a weeklong of debate and discussion, the forum has concluded that electricity, will power the car of the future. Not surprisingly, the debate revolved around needed advances in battery technology and the land usage of biofuel crops.

Alan Shaw, president of Codexis—a developer of biocatalytic chemical processes used to reduce manufacturing costs across a broad range of industries—concluded his defense of biofuels with the following:

The most compelling aspect of advanced biofuels is that they meet the future need for clean, alternative transportation fuel and offer a realistic strategy to get there. Electric-battery vehicles require a costly and radical conversion of our entire automotive systems and fuelling processes. Biofuels strategically bridge existing infrastructure, ubiquitous automotive mechanics, economic pragmatism and environmental sustainability. Indeed, biofuels, not electricity, will power the car of the future.

On the other side of the debate was Sidney Goodman, the Vice President of Automotive Alliances, a group that oversees the automobile manufacturing industry. He concluded with:

As the leaders of many major carmakers have said, electrification of the automobile is inevitable and, while it will not happen overnight, the transition already has begun in earnest. The science and technology exist today to make mass-market electric cars a reality. Hybrid-electric vehicles are an interim step towards this not too distant future. There is a reason why the majority of devices are powered by electricity today: the electric motor is one of the most efficient machines on the planet. Because electrons are more efficient, we rarely see molecules used as a driver outside the transportation realm.

In the end, 68% of the debate participants voted that electricity is the future of transportation (only 32% voted for the biofuel solution).

Biofuels, organic fuels made from plants and vegetables, are considered to be one of the most promising means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy security by providing a renewable alternative to fossil fuels.  Ethanol produced from corn comprises the majority of renewable fuel in the U.S.; however, world food shortages, process inefficiencies, and concerns about sustainability have caused a reevaluation of the long-term viability of corn and other land-based biomass sources.  The 2005 U.S. Energy Policy Act mandated that 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels be incorporated into gasoline over the next 6 years. In response to this need, the State of Florida is making a major investment in biofuels technology. In June, 2008, Governor Charlie Crist signed into law the most comprehensive energy and economic legislation in Florida's history. This legislation established the Florida Energy and Climate Commission, and the Florida Energy Systems Consortium (FESC).  FESC is a collaborative effort between the state's public universities to address important issues dealing with energy, climate and the environment, with a particular focus on promoting renewable energy.

In late 2008, with impetus from FESC, Florida State University (FSU) created the Institute for Energy Systems, Economics and Sustainability (IESES) to conduct research and analyses on the engineering, science, infrastructure and socio-economic aspects of a sustainable energy economy.  IESES is a collection of scholars across eighteen disciplines, with a goal of broadening and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration between FSU, FESC associates, governmental agencies, business and industry.

One key research component of IESES is the Center for Marine Bioenergy Research, which focuses on the development of bioenergy products from marine algae. Marine algae represent an unexploited biomass source that could provide a cheap, clean, and renewable fuel source that is ideally suited for production in Florida. In fact, marine algae are arguably the most promising non-food source of biofuels, producing a yield that is higher than land crops, and using the ocean would mean farmland that could grow food would not be a part of the biofuel equation.  The US Department of Energy estimates that for algae biofuel to replace all the petroleum fuel in the U.S., only 15,000 square miles of intense algal cultivation would be needed, roughly the size of the state of Maryland.  However, a recent state of the industry report cited several major impediments to progress in algal biofuels development, including; 1) secrecy amongst companies in the field that leads to a lack of information sharing between affiliated scientists, 2) lack of rigorous assessments of the entire algal biofuel value chain (i.e., from production to distribution), and 3) lack of trained workforce.

With one of the largest coastlines in the U.S., Florida is positioned to develop a significant supply of biomass from its surrounding oceans to support biofuel production. FSU researchers are developing a state-of-the-art algal cultivation operation at a site on the North Florida coast, which includes an off-grid, zero emissions facility that utilizes recycled CO2 (from the processing of algal biomass) and nutrients (from local wastewater sources) to support algal growth.  Since this unique operation will be run by an academic institution, a major goal will be to work towards overcoming problems noted in the aforementioned state of the industry report.  Scientific findings will be made available in a timely manner to the public and scientists in the field; IESES economists and social scientists will help to quantify the economic, energetic and environmental impacts of the facility and provide guidance on future efficiency improvements; and the facility will serve as a training ground for the next generation of algal biofuel/biotechnology workers.