Americas News
Biofuel Developer Signs Deal with Neste Oil
Renewable diesel company Neste Oil has signed a deal with U.S. algae biofuel developer Cellana to buy large volumes of fuel if the company can boost its production capacity, San Diego radio station KPBS reports.
Martin Sabarsky, CEO of Cellana, said the fuel represents the "holy grail" that U.S. and European governments are seeking because it can provide energy in a more sustainable manner without raising costs.
"Depending on the production scale-up, the volume that Cellana could supply could be up to thousands or even tens of thousands of tons of algae-based crude oil," said Sabarsky said.
Cellana grows the algae at a Hawaii facility using sea water in photobioreactors.
Stephen Mayfield, professor of molecular biology at the University of California at San Diego, said Cellana's business model involves creating and selling high-value Omega 3 food oils along with cheaper oil for biofuel.
The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), Energy Department, and academic researchers have been working to develop algae-based biofuels in recent years.
