A reader recently called my attention to a new and very interesting presentation from the Department of Energy’s Biomass Program: Biofuels Design Cases
The presentation explored the question of whether the U.S. government is spending money on the right technology pathways. Costs were presented for biofuel produced from pyrolysis, algae, Fischer-Tropsch (FT), and methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) routes.
I want to share several slides from the presentation to give an idea of what the DOE thinks about the costs for producing biofuels via the various pathways. The first slide below shows the projected cost of production of biofuels via MTG, pyrolysis, and FT for the “Nth Biorefinery Plant” — which is defined as the projected fuel cost after a number of plants have been built and the learning curve has been mastered.
The linked article shows what a great source of new fuel this will be, why do they list a price so low currently for fuel as when DLA paid $136.53 for a gallon of algae biofuel? Did Solazyme overcharge?
Defense Logistics Agency
Contract number SP4701-10-C-0008
Solazyme, Inc.
225 Gateway Blvd.
South San Francisco, CA 94080
$10,240,000 for 75,000 Gallons
http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/110401/SOLAZYME-INC_S-1.A/dex1015.htm
http://www.militaryindustrialcomplex.com/contract_detail.asp?contract_id=13539
“Using service is Navy. The original proposal was Web-solicited with one response.”