Algae Oil Biodiesel

Additional Emission Testing Demonstrates Solazyme’s Algal-Biofuels Shown to Significantly Lower Tailpipe Emissions When Compared to Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A study undertaken by Life Cycle Associates, LLC, using the Argonne National Laboratories GREET model, concluded that full lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from field-to-wheels for Solazyme’s algal biofuel, SoladieselTM, are 85 to 93 percent lower than standard petroleum based ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). The analysis also reveals that Solazyme’s advanced biofuels result in a significantly lower carbon footprint than any currently available first-generation biofuels.

“Solazyme’s advanced biofuels substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions per mile driven over petroleum-based fuels and result in much lower carbon emissions than currently available first generation biofuels. Lower process energy inputs combined with the production of algae derived feed results in much lower GHG emissions than currently available first-generation biofuels,” said Stefan Unnasch, President of Life Cycle Associates, LLC. “With findings like these, we are confident that algal-biofuels have the potential to play a significant role in alternative fuels and are excited that such a promising technology is in commercial development.”

Additionally, testing undertaken by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) ReFUEL laboratory shows that Solazyme, Inc.’s SoladieselBDTM significantly outperforms ULSD in total Hydrocarbons (THC), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Particulate Matter tailpipe emissions. This includes an approximately 30 percent reduction in particulates, an approximately 20 percent reduction in CO and an approximately 10 percent reduction in THC.

“Solazyme is committed to working with the most rigorous and well-respected external experts to independently validate the real-world environmental benefits of our technologies. Part of our mandate is to ensure we are producing products that will meet our growing energy needs in an effective, green and highly-sustainable way,” said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO of Solazyme. “Solazyme’s SoladieselTM can exploit a wide variety of non-food feedstocks including cellulosics to achieve up to a 93 percent reduction in GHG emissions. We are very pleased with the findings by both NREL and Life Cycle Associates and look forward to playing a significant role in providing the clean, renewable fuels of the future.”

About Solazyme:

Solazyme, Inc. is a renewable oil production company that harnesses the power of microalgae to produce clean and scalable high performance biofuels, “green” chemicals and health products. The company was founded in 2003 and has its headquarters in South San Francisco, California. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.solazyme.com.

Algae come in all sizes and shapes: from single-celled microbes in pond scum to 100-foot-long seaweeds in kelp forests. They can live in salty, fresh and even waste water.

The speed at which algae grow can overwhelm marine habitats and fish tanks, but that same productivity could make these organisms the best choice for supplying biofuels. Attracted by this potential, researchers and entrepreneurs are trying to reduce the costs of current harvesting methods.

The relation between algae and fuel actually goes back millions of years. The remains of ancient algae are generally thought to have mulched into the petroleum we now pump up from underground.

“We’re sort of going ‘back to the future’ in making biofuels with living algae,” said Thomas Byrne, a Minnesota-based renewable energy consultant and secretary of the Algal Biomass Organization.

Despite there being no big algae farms to lobby for it, algae-based biofuels have been getting a fair amount of support. The airline industry, in particular, is considering algae biofuels as a way to reduce its carbon footprint. This past January, Continental Airlines flew the first commercial test flight with algae-derived jet fuel.

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Ever imagine filling up the fuel tanks on a military aircraft with french fry grease? It’s no April Fools’ Day joke — that’s exactly what the Air Force could do someday if a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research program proves successful.

DARPA is the Defense Department’s scientific agency that pushes the envelope toward what Anthony J. Tether, its long-time previous director, described as “the far side” of science and technology development to support military requirements.

So in an effort to reduce the military’s huge reliance on imported oil, DARPA is on the fast track exploring ways to convert so-called “yellow grease oil” or plant-based “cellulosic and algae sources” into JP8 jet fuel.

The goal, explained Barbara McQuiston, director of the Strategic Technology Office and program manager for biofuels, is to come up with nonpetroleum sources to power military aircraft, ground vehicles and non-nuclear ships. Two side benefits, she said, will be lower fuel costs and fewer environmentally unfriendly carbon emissions.

The DARPA-funded biofuels program has the scientific community looking into some seemingly unlikely petroleum alternatives: algae, seeds and corn husks among them. These crops produce a type of oil that can be converted through a complicated process into biofuel, McQuiston said.

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