Growing Algae for Bio-energy
Experimental algae project in Kouvola
Image: Yle
A group of Finnish companies has started to grow algae for use as biological fuel. Companies involved in the experimental project have invested 150,000 euros a plant in Kouvola, where they hope to produce natural gas.
Jari Järvinen of the regional development company Cursor sees the project as very cost-effective.
One factor in the project is the possibility to utilise sludge from industrial waste and household sewage. The sludge is a growth material from the algae, and biological fuel is the end result of a complicated process – that is, if everything goes according to plan.
Unresolved Problems Remain
Turning algae into fuel is not a simple process. Jukka Seppälä of the Finnish Environment Institute notes that there are unresolved questions on a number of issues, such as growing techniques for the algae, the collecting of the algae biomass from water, and the extraction of oil from the algae. In addition, production costs should go down by 5-10 percent if the activity is to be made profitable.
Energy companies are investing large sums of money in the development of new fuels. For instance, the oil company Exxon has spent hundreds of millions on similar projects, which help them establish and maintain an environmentally friendly image.
“This might become a real business in about ten years, but we have cleaner energy as your goal, and this can be marketed as a domestic, local, clean, domestic energy produced from recycled raw materials”, says Timo Toikka, managing director of Hamina Energy.
Research Data not Easily Available
The people behind the project are trying to collect information and know-how in the field from different areas, including the Finnish Environment Institute. The institute nevertheless declined to cooperate, citing scheduling difficulties. However, one likely factor is that the institute did not want to share data from research conducted with the help of corporate grants from Neste Oil, for instance.
“We get a certain amount of financing from various companies, and naturally, this has an impact. We cannot share all information with everyone”, Jukka Seppälä admits.
Algae certainly has a future as an alternative fuel. In Germany, a helicopter is expected to be unveiled soon which is powered exclusively by fuel extracted from algae.
YLE