Carbon Trusts to Invest in Green Oil
31 Oct 2008
Recently the Carbon Trust announced that it was to invest up to £6m of funding for the initial stages of the Algae BiofuelsChallenge.
Attention: This article has been imported from our old website
While we've taken every precaution to ensure that the content of this article remains intact, it may contain errors.Recently the Carbon Trust announced that it was to invest between £3m-£6m of funding for the initial stages of the Algae Biofuels Challenge. It is set to make algae biofuel a viable alternative to commercial fossil fuels by 2020.
The Carbon Trust believe that algae biofuel has the potential to replace a significant proportion of conventional fossil fuels and that there is the opportunity to save hundreds of millions of tonnes in carbon emissions globally every year. They have high hopes for the sustainability of the industries that arise from the move over to biofuel production.
Dr Mark Williamson, Innovations Director at the Carbon Trust, explains why public investment in algae as an alternative to fossil fuel based oil is vital: “We must find a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to oil for our cars and planes if we are to deliver the deep cuts in carbon emissions necessary to tackle climate change. Algae could provide a significant part of the answer and represents a multi billion pound opportunity. Through the Algae Biofuels Challenge, we will be combining the UK’s undoubted expertise in the area with our unique knowledge and experience of commercialising early stage low carbon technologies, to give us the best possible chance of successfully producing cost-competitive algal biofuel at scale”
The Carbon Trust is keen to state its commitment to ensuring that second generation biofuels are truly sustainable. Phase 1 of the Algae Biofuels Challenge opened on 23rd October, with a call for proposals these can be made on the Carbon Trust’s website:
www.carbontrust.co.uk/technology/directedresearch/algae.htm
The applications for access to Carbon Trust funds for this project will close on the 15th December 2008. This will be followed by a second phase moving to large scale production of algal oil. The total programme cost is expected to be in the region of £20m-30m, with up to £10m-16m of Carbon Trust funding. The importance of this venture is deemed to be so significant that the Department of Transport has also announced its financial support for the initiative. With this level of support the future of green transport is set to be a move in a more sustainable direction.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider making a donation
Donating helps us keep reporting on positive news
