Can algae live up to the hype?

Hype or reality?

Algae-derived biofuels have been one of the big topics of conversation in recent years when it comes to biofuels. And now that Exxon has thrown a $600 million investment into algae, the hype around algae is greater than ever.

With it's high energy level content, algae makes corn ethanol seem even more capricious than the the boondoggle it already has become. Moreover, algae might just be a CO2 killer, given its potential ability to turn CO2 into fuel. Nonetheless, it will be a decade, perhaps even decades, before algae can provide any serious amount of fuel into the energy paradigm.

Hopefully, one day, algae will live up to the hype. For now, however, clean and green biofuels are still more myth than reality.