Dark Enough to See the Stars

My resource notes for a radio interview on WORT (in beautiful Madison, WI) - looking at strategies to counter Peak Oil scenarios through the use of biologically derived energy. e.g. Algae/bacteria that produce biofuels or hydrogen

[First, an important question: Which is more likely to happen first - The ‘end’ of oil? Or the end of the combustion engine?
I think the logical tendency to deal with ‘peak oil production’ scenarios is to seek substitutes for liquid oil. I take a different approach- and ask- how do we eliminate the combustion engine which needs oil.

I prefer to explore futures in which the auto industry leaves the bulky, mechanical combustion engine behind for electric propulsion systems. These wheel based electric motors are likely powered by a combination of batteries, hydrogen fuel cells and capacitors. The industry’s motivation might not be to save the planet- but rather reduce manufacturing costs, increase performance, expand design options and tap electricity for in-car digital services.     And remember, you cannot solve the oil gap shortage through wind/solar. Combustion engines require liquid fuels.  Wind and solar producing electricity are no good there!  Shift to an electric motor platform and renewables can produce electricity or hydrogen.]

For me, the conversation of how do we end the combustion engine era, is much more strategic. At the same time, I think it is critical to advance commercialization of next generation biofuels. Above all else, I am a big advocate of bioenergy.

So, let’s assume a future for combustion engines and demand for biofuels. Here are the resources from the radio interview:

Articles to Explore:

• “15 Start ups to Watch” via Earth2Tech blog
• “Algae Everywhere>.” via EcoGeek blog
• “After 30 years, algae-to-fuel finally gets the green light” via GreenFuelsForecast

Blogs to Watch:

• Earth2Tech
• http://biopact.com/
• http://gas2.org/
• http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/
• http://www.icis.com/blogs/biofuels/

Videos to Watch

1) CNN article / video on Valcent vertial bioreactors
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/

Interviews on www.greenenergytv.com
2) Renewable Biodiesel Algae - by Solazyme
http://www.greenenergytv.com/default.aspx?1472348255

3) Algae As Holy Grail of Biofuel - Valcent Products
http://www.greenenergytv.com/default.aspx?1472348255#1213892433

4) TED videos - search for:
Juan Enriquez: Why can’t we grow new energy?
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/193

And several by Craig Venter (on synthetic biology- designing microbes to maximize efficiency/performance)

Companies to Watch:

Aquaflow Bionomic, Virent, Nanologix, Inc., LS9, Renewable Synthetic Fuel (RSFuel), Amyris Biotechnologies, Synthetic Genomics, Coskata, Solix, Mascoma, Gulf Ethanol, Verenium, Iogen, Agrivida, Eirzyme, BioHydrogen (UK), UOP, BioMaxx, Chevron, Aurora Biofuels: – and dozens of other companies.

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