Algenol to distribute algae-based ethanol commercially

Offering ethanol made from algae for the first time commercially, Algenol Biotech and Protec Fuel Management have entered into an agreement to market and distribute ethanol from Algenol’s Fort Myers, Florida, commercial demonstration module.

The companies will also offer Algenol’s future 18 million gallons per year from its commercial plant, which is planned for development in Central Florida in 2016 and 2017.

Protec Fuel will distribute and market the fuel for E15 and E85 applications for both retail stations and general public consumption, as well as fleet applications.

‘This alliance is a logical step for Algenol as our commercial fuels are coming online,’ says Algenol founder and CEO Paul Woods.

Todd Garner, CEO of Protec Fuel, says the key components and priority of ethanol’s use are sustainability, cleaner air, and to provide the public with lower-cost fuel.

‘To be able to offer a fuel that can accomplish the three key components only bolsters this advanced biofuel’s future,’ he says.

The partnership will enable Algenol to leverage Protec’s network of retail clients for the distribution of Algenol’s E85, E15, and other advanced biofuels.

The agreement encompasses E85 and E15 marketing and supply to Protec distribution network and to fuel terminals and other third parties, as warranted by market conditions.

While the partnership will initially focus on Florida, the agreement provides for expansion into a national partnership scope.

The agreement follows a series of commercialisation aspirations by Algenol, which include its pathway approval by the US Environmental  Protection Agency (EPA) in December 2014, its organism approval by both the state of Florida and by the EPA in the same year, and the June 2015 completion of its two-acre commercial demonstration module funded in part by a $25 million DOE Recovery Act grant.

Algenol is producing ethanol meeting the D4806 ASTM specifications on a daily basis, and it can be sold commercially as E85.

Algenol has developed a patented technology using algae to produce the four most widely used fuels: ethanol, gasoline, jet and diesel fuel, all for about $1.30 a gallon.

The company captures, recycles and utilizes CO₂ that is used as a feedstock for the algae, an approach identified as a qualifying technology for reducing carbon emissions in the recently established Clean Power Plan.

Its pathway reduces  greenhouse  gas  emissions  by  69%  per  gallon  compared  to  traditional  gasoline  according  to  the  official  EPA  pathway  approval.

A single 2,000 acre commercial Algenol module is equivalent to planting 40 million trees or removing 36,000 cars from the road.

Ethanol, used in gas pumps across the country, is typically made from the fermentation of sugars produced by plants such as corn and sugar cane.

But by using algae to convert CO₂ emissions into fuels, a  fossil  fuel  replacement  with  yields  20  times  greater than that of corn can be produced.