Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM), which has been harshly criticized for refusing to pursue renewable energy development, announced Tuesday that it has agreed to invest upwards of $600 million in an algae-to-biofuels venture.
The oil giant announced an alliance with biotech company, Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI), a privately held company focused on developing genomic-driven solutions
and founded by genome pioneer, Dr. J. Craig Venter, to develop advanced
biofuels from photosynthetic algae that are compatible with today’s
gasoline and diesel fuels.
Under the program, if research and development milestones are
successfully met, ExxonMobil said it expects to spend more than $600 million,
which includes $300 million in internal costs and potentially more than
$300 million to SGI.
“The real challenge to creating a viable next generation biofuel is the ability to produce it in large volumes which will require significant advances in both science and engineering,” said Venter, CEO of SGI. "The alliance between SGI and ExxonMobil will bring together the complementary capabilities and expertise of both companies to develop innovative solutions that could lead to the large scale production of biofuel from algae.”
In February, a coalition of U.S. investors listed ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE) and Gneral Motors (NYSE: GM) among nine companies believed to be falling behind industry peers in responding to the business threats associated with climate change.
Loading...