We’ve been following the recently refueled research (pun intended) into algae as an biodiesel creator for a while here at Swye, and it’s looking more and more like a plausible source. The idea is anything but new however. Green Fuels Forecast has a great article on the history of algae as a biofuel producer over the past three decades.

Several companies are aggressively pushing clean biodiesel via algae and Solazyme, one of the leaders in the technology, thinks we could be filling our cars with the stuff as early as two years. That’s a bold assessment, but not out of the questions considering that they’re in talks with chevron to distribute the fuel.

Algae producing biodiesel isn’t without it’s share of risks and problems, but there are some innovative techniques being created to solve some of those issues. One such issue is the use of algae pools and the evaporation and the risk of algae contamination in local water sources that’s associated with it. One solution that’s been presented is the Vertigro system jointly developed by Valcent Products and Global Green Solutions. With the system, the algae grows vertically in plastic bubbles hanging from racks, solving both problems, and also solving the problem that light only penetrates the algae rich water in an algae pool by an inch, obviously reducing it’s efficiency. During a 90-day continual production test, the system produced an estimated third more biodiesel than a pool system.

With the company reporting that this fuel can be used in any diesel car, we can all wish them well in their quest to change the oil industry. Here’s to hoping their projections are true.

» Via AutoBlogGreen