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Algal Bioenergy Special Interest Group

Programme background

The potential of microalgae as a renewable energy source attracts much hype. To be a feasible source for biodiesel, the current price for microalgae production needs reducing by at least one order of magnitude and the scale of production of lipids from microalgae needs increasing by three orders of magnitude.

The technology for upscaling production is in its infancy but is subject to considerable investment: the Carbon Trust aimed to invest up to £16m in the Algae Biofuels Challenge. In July 2009, ExxonMobil announced an investment of $600m over 5 years to produce liquid transportation fuels from algae in partnership with Venter's Synthetic Genomics biotechnology company.

Interest is driven both by the potential productivity of microalgae, which is tenfold greater than that of agricultural crops, and because, unlike first-generation biofuels, microalgae do not require arable land or freshwater, nor do they compete with food production.

Like microalgae, macroalgal forests are more productive than many terrestrial systems. It is feasible to cultivate macroalgae (seaweed) in open waters in the UK, but the science base is limited with respect to the efficiency of use of UK seaweeds for biofuel production, the implications of cultivation on the marine water column and the spatial sensitivity of seaweed communities to harvesting.

Seaweed grows best in areas of high primary productivity (eg rivers enriched with sewage, fish farms) and in areas of strong tidal exchange that ensure a constant nutrient supply. Combining mariculture with offshore renewable energy installations is feasible, but most research has focused on fish assemblages on artificial reefs, which ignores the integral role of macroalgal communities in the development of reef ecosystems.

Significant knowledge gaps exist in understanding the potential of algal-based bioenergy. Questions remain regarding whether marine biomass could be harvested from wild or cultivated algal resources, if land-based microalgae technologies can be transferred to freshwater and marine environments, and, critically, in understanding the positive and negative impacts of scaling-up production on the wider environment.

There are also potential biosecurity risks from large-scale cultures or algal farming and harvesting, whose effects on ecosystems could be immense.

In 2008, in the first round of theme action plans, NERC funded a scoping study on marine bioenergy to investigate the potential of marine biomass as a source of energy for third generation biofuels. This led to the identification of the requirement of a network in algal bioenergy in the second round of theme action plans in 2009.

The AB-SIG Network

The Technology Strategy Board will partner this activity with NERC and, through their Biosciences Knowledge Transfer Network, will help to disseminate and transfer the knowledge gained through development of this Special Interest Group (AB-SIG).

The Biosciences KTN strategy was published in October 2009 and has three priority areas: genomics, industrial biotechnology, and agriculture & food (agrifood). The strategy states that TSB "will invest to support and encourage: technologies that enable advanced generation biofuels."

Algal bioenergy is often referred to as an advanced or third generation biofuel. Its economic potential as a source of liquid biofuel has yet to be realised and a number of technological innovations will be required before this can achieved. Economic opportunities exist today, however, for high value chemicals or energy from algal biomass.

The purpose of the AB-SIG Network is to rapidly scope the environmental science potential in the area of algal bioenergy, and to build the research networks and secure the key partnerships needed to facilitate this.

The key anticipated outcome is the generation of opportunities for the research community to focus on developing the evidence base to inform decisions; eg on the best algal feed stocks for the UK, the most appropriate locations and environmental implications of macroalgal production, and predictive modelling of the implications of scaling up microalgae production on the environment.

Critically, the network should enable early evaluation of the environmental and economic impact of algal bioenergy through development of a 'sustainability framework' using analogues developed for terrestrial bioenergy deployments. The network will also ensure close engagement with technological developments in this area.

This programme aims to make a significant contribution to the Living With Environmental Change programme and is part of the Research Councils UK Energy programme .