Iowa Approves $2 Million for Algae Fuel Project

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Iowa energy officials have approved more than $2 million for an effort to grow algae at a southwest Iowa ethanol plant and use the material to make fuel.

The 18-member Iowa Power Fund Board approved the $2,085,000 grant to assist in the commercialization of algae production technology.

The project by BioProcessAlgae LLC, is a joint effort by Omaha, Neb.-based Green Plains Renewable Energy and three other companies.

Scott Poor, corporate counsel for Green Plains, said the research and development grant will fund an algae production project at the company's Shenandoah, Iowa, ethanol plant.

"There is a great deal of synergy between ethanol production and algae production," he said. "The algae can utilize the carbon dioxide, water and heat from the ethanol plant, so some of the key inputs for algae production are already available."

Kevin Lynch, the chief executive of BioProcessAlgae, said the company will test its photobioreactor design in hopes of commercializing the algae production process.

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