Algae: price competitive with fossil fuels by 2020, survey finds

The Algae Biomass Organization’s 2015 Industry Survey was conducted in January and February, 2015 through an electronic questionnaire sent via email to ABO’s 7,000+ contact list. The survey asked for opinion and projections on the industry’s growth, barriers to advancement, and policy priorities through 2020.

According to ABO, there are three key takeaways from the data:

• Algae fuels, feeds, plastics and other products will be price competitive with incumbent products within the decade, if not sooner. Some are price competitive already.

• Production of algal biomass and associated products as well as hiring across departments will increase in both the short and the long term.

• Supportive and consistent federal policies will further accelerate production and hiring.

Key metrics from the survey:

• The percentage of employers with 51-100 employees expected to continue to increase and the percentage of employers that expect 101-500 employees expected to increase eightfold.

• Congressional engagement is high-68 percent of respondents’ organizations either have met with or plan to meet with legislators, and more than half of ABO members reported having elected officials tour their facilities.

• 46 percent of producers project the cost of algae-based fuel to be less than $3.00 per gallon and more than 91 percent project the cost to be less than $5.00 per gallon by 2020.

“The members of the Algae Biomass Organization are moving quickly to develop technologies that will provide consumers with products they want without negative impacts on our food, climate or energy security,” said Matt Carr, executive director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “This survey captures the enthusiasm of the entrepreneurs and scientists that are tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges, creating new jobs and new sources of fuel, feed and other products.”