\u00a0<\/a>by lead authors Imad Ajjawi and Eric Moellering of Synthetic Genomics.<\/p>\nResearchers at Synthetic Genomics\u2019 laboratory in La Jolla discovered a new process for increasing oil production by identifying a genetic switch that could be fine-tuned to regulate the conversion of carbon to oil in the algae species,\u00a0Nannochloropsis gaditana. The team established a proof-of-concept approach that resulted in the\u00a0algae doubling its lipid fraction of cellular carbon compared to the parent \u2013 while sustaining growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis key milestone in our advanced biofuels program confirms our belief that algae can be incredibly productive as a renewable energy source with a corresponding positive contribution to our environment,\u201d said Vijay Swarup, vice president for research and development at ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company. \u201cOur work with Synthetic Genomics continues to be an important part of our broader research into lower-emission technologies to reduce the risk of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe major inputs for phototropic algae production are sunlight and carbon dioxide, two resources that are abundant, sustainable and free,\u201d said Oliver Fetzer, Ph.D., chief executive officer at Synthetic Genomics. \u201cDiscoveries made through our partnership with ExxonMobil demonstrate how advanced cell engineering capabilities at Synthetic Genomics can unlock biology to optimize how we use these resources and create solutions for many of today\u2019s sustainability challenges \u2013 from renewable energy to nutrition and human health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Algae has been regarded as a potential sustainable fuel option, but researchers have been hindered for the past decade in developing a strain that is high in oil content and grows quickly \u2013 two critical characteristics for scalable and cost-efficient oil production. Slower growth has been an adverse effect of previous attempts to increase algae oil production volume.<\/p>\n
A key objective of the ExxonMobil-Synthetic Genomics collaboration has been to increase the lipid content of algae while decreasing the starch and protein components without inhibiting the algae\u2019s growth. Limiting availability of nutrients such as nitrogen is one way to increase oil production in algae, but it can also dramatically inhibit or even stop photosynthesis, stunting algae growth and ultimately the volume of oil produced.<\/p>\n
The ability to sustain growth while increasing oil content is an important advance. Algae has other advantages over traditional biofuels because it can grow in salt water and thrive in harsh environmental conditions, therefore limiting stress on food and fresh water supplies.<\/p>\n
Oil from algae can also potentially be processed in conventional refineries, producing fuels no different from convenient, energy-dense diesel. Oil produced from algae also holds promise as a potential feedstock for chemical manufacturing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SGI-ExxonMobil science teams have made significant advances over the last several years in efforts to optimize lipid production in algae. This important publication today is evidence of this work, and we remain convinced that synthetic biology holds crucial answers to unlocking the potential of algae as a renewable energy source,\u201d said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Synthetic Genomics co-founder and chairman. \u201cWe look forward to continued work with ExxonMobil so that eventually we will indeed have a viable alternative energy source.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since 2009, ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics have been partners in researching and developing oil from algae to be used as a renewable, lower-emission alternative to traditional transportation fuels. Swarup said that while the breakthrough is an important step, the technology is still many years from potentially reaching the commercial market.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdvancements as potentially important as this require significant time and effort, as is the case with any research and development project,\u201d Swarup said. \u201cEach phase of our algae research, or any other similar project in the area of advanced biofuels, requires testing and analysis to confirm that we\u2019re proceeding down a path toward scale and commercial viability.\u201d<\/p>\n
ExxonMobil is engaged in a wide range of research on advanced biofuels, partnering with universities, government laboratories, and other companies. Global demand for transportation-related energy is projected to increase by about 25 percent through 2040, and accelerating the reduction in emissions from the transportation sector will play a critical role in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n
ExxonMobil is also actively researching other emission-reducing technologies, including carbon capture and sequestration. In 2016, ExxonMobil announced its partnership with Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy, Inc. to advance the use of carbonate fuel cells to economically capture carbon emissions from power plants while generating hydrogen and additional electricity. Since 2000, ExxonMobil has spent about $8 billion to develop and deploy lower-emission energy solutions across its operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ExxonMobil\u00a0and Synthetic Genomics Inc. have\u00a0announced a breakthrough in joint research into advanced biofuels involving the modification of an algae strain that more than doubled its oil content without significantly inhibiting … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[6244,6246,860,6245,1827,6243],"class_list":["post-6080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news","tag-algae","tag-biofuels","tag-exxonmobil","tag-nannochloropsis-gaditana","tag-oil","tag-synthetic-genomics","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/algae-fuel.jpg?fit=640%2C425&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5JWkQ-1A4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12799,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/angola-exxonmobil-make-new-discovery-in-block-15\/","url_meta":{"origin":6080,"position":0},"title":"ANGOLA: ExxonMobil Make New Discovery in Block 15","author":"","date":"November 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The well encountered 30 meters (98 feet) of high-quality, hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone. It is located approximately 365 kilometers northwest off the coast of Luanda and was drilled in 1,100 meters (3,608 feet) of water by the Valaris DS-9 rig. \u201cExxonMobil is optimizing this resource and delivering value to the people and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Countries"","block_context":{"text":"Countries","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/countries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Angola-Block-15-06.jpeg?fit=368%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9275,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/angola-anpg-exxonmobil-sonangol-sign-3-contracts-for-the-exploration-of-the-namibia-basin\/","url_meta":{"origin":6080,"position":1},"title":"ANGOLA: ANPG, ExxonMobil & SONANGOL Sign 3 Contracts for the Exploration of the Namibia Basin","author":"","date":"October 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) signed today, three Risk Service Agreements with ExxonMobil and Sonangol P&P that make it possible to increase the exploration area in the offshore area Angola), over 17,800 square kilometers. These agreements will make it possible to identify the potential of hydrocarbon resources\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Central Africa"","block_context":{"text":"Central Africa","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/countries\/central-africa\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ANPG-EXXONMOBIL.png?fit=720%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ANPG-EXXONMOBIL.png?fit=720%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ANPG-EXXONMOBIL.png?fit=720%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ANPG-EXXONMOBIL.png?fit=720%2C400&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10303,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/angola-total-starts-production-from-zinia-phase-2-successful-short-cycle-development-on-block-17\/","url_meta":{"origin":6080,"position":2},"title":"ANGOLA: Total Starts Production From Zinia Phase 2, Successful Short-Cycle Development On Block 17","author":"","date":"May 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Total, operator of Block 17 in Angola, together with the Angolan National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency, announce the start of production from Zinia Phase 2 short-cycle project, connected to existing Pazflor\u2019s FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading unit). The project includes the drilling of nine wells and is expected\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Countries"","block_context":{"text":"Countries","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/countries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/angola-block-17.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/angola-block-17.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/angola-block-17.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/angola-block-17.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8790,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/nigeria-exxonmobil-appoints-new-chairman-and-managing-director\/","url_meta":{"origin":6080,"position":3},"title":"NIGERIA: ExxonMobil Appoints New Chairman and Managing Director","author":"","date":"August 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"ExxonMobil has announced the appointment of a new Chairman and Managing Director Richard Laing its 3 affiliate firms in Nigeria namely Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN) and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd. (EEPNL). Richard Laing replaces Paul McGrath who has been promoted as the new Vice President, Global Projects\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Countries"","block_context":{"text":"Countries","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/countries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ExxonMobil-Nigeria.png?fit=607%2C365&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ExxonMobil-Nigeria.png?fit=607%2C365&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ExxonMobil-Nigeria.png?fit=607%2C365&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":653,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/new-process-converts-algae-to-crude-oil-in-less-than-an-hour\/","url_meta":{"origin":6080,"position":4},"title":"New process converts algae to crude oil in less than an hour","author":"Samuel Kamau Mbote","date":"March 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It typically takes about 65 million years to convert plant material into crude oil - but now a new process has dramatically reduced the amount of time necessary and can get the job done in about an hour. This is accomplished at the\u00a0Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), which is run\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News by others"","block_context":{"text":"News by others","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/news-by-others\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/algae-fuel.jpg?fit=640%2C425&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/algae-fuel.jpg?fit=640%2C425&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/algae-fuel.jpg?fit=640%2C425&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11294,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/angola-start-up-of-clov-phase-2-project\/","url_meta":{"origin":6080,"position":5},"title":"ANGOLA: Start-up of CLOV Phase 2 project","author":"","date":"December 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"TotalEnergies, operator of Block 17 in Angola, together with the Angolan National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) have announced the start of production of CLOV Phase 2, a project connected to the existing CLOV FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading unit). This tie-back project will reach a production of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Countries"","block_context":{"text":"Countries","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/countries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/angola-block-17.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/angola-block-17.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/angola-block-17.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/angola-block-17.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6080"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6082,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6080\/revisions\/6082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}