Can algae save the airline industry?

Can algae-based biofuels become cost-effective?

Last year one of the more interesting displays at Wired's NextFest was algae biofuel. While algae is believed to be one of the best feedstocks for biofuels because it produces far more energy per acre than crops like soybeans or corn, it has also proven to be quite expensive thus far. Nonetheless, supporters keep trudging along and, recently, the US airline industry has expressed a strong interest in supporting the development of the algae fuel.

Can the weight of the US airline industry make algae the fuel of the future?