Petrosun Algae Starts Branch in China

Written by Peg Fong

Monday, 06 October 2008

Although the algae biofuel industry is still relatively young, a few companies have established themselves as market leaders. One of these, Arizona-based Petrosun, has recently taken a noticeable step - announcing an international venture to establish an algae farm in China. The company says it has an agreement with Jun Ya Yan Technology Development Co. of Shanghai which will commit $40 million to fund the Chinese farm. The profits of the joint venture will be split between PetroSun’s China subsidiary and Jun Ya Yan Tech.

In Texas, PetroSun is building 1,100 acres of ponds in its Rio Hondo location
to produce 4.4 million gallons of algae oil and 110 million pounds of biomass per year. Neither company has said where the China farm will be based, but let’s hope it doesn’t interfere with food production – a problem which already exists on Asian farmlands.

Algae fuel is higher yielding than biofuels based on corn and soybeans, though it will still take some time to bring costs down. PetroSun claims that algae is capable of producing in excess of 30 times more oil per acre than corn and soybean crops, that their biodiesel contains no sulfur, is highly biodgradable and is nontoxic.

Recently, according to GreenTechMedia, investment in algae fuel has been ratcheted up. In venture capital, algae-based biofuel companies have raised a record-breaking $179.5 million to date this year compared to $32 million last year.

Via Earth2Tech, Petrosun

Comments (1)

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written by Steve N. Lee , October 06, 2008

I've read of algae biofuels before and how they are so much more efficient than corn, etc. Sadly the costs have been prohibitive. Let's hope that's set to change.

Yes, anything we grow as fuel could displace food crop production. That could lead to the poor of the world getting even poorer as the rich nations would demand all the food, as usual, leaving them with squat. That's a serious issue that needs addressing.

I read once of algae being grown in plastic tubing as opposed to ponds. If the tubing opotion could be developed, algae farms could be based anywhere, for example on rooftops in cities, meaning no arable land is 'wasted'.

We have to ensure that the companies involved in this act responsibily and are fully accountable for the actions they take. The last thing we want is a repeat of what's happening in the Amazon to satiate the West's appetite for cheeseburgers! We need to set out on our green quest with green ideals founded on human rights and environmental needs. We need a fully holistic approach or we are simply going to repeat all the mistakes of the past and end up in a worse positin than we are now.

Steve N. Lee
author of eco-blog http://www.lionsledbysheep.com
and suspense thriller 'What if...?'

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