San Diego – The Center for Biofuel Research?

Today the San Diego Tribune reported that Exxon Mobil has pledged to invest 300 million dollars into a private venture in San Diego. It is headed by J. Craig Venter, who is a pioneer in the study of the human genome. Venter is a rock star scientist, a true genius that has allowed us to study the human genetics much more effectively. He says that he got involved with bio fuels in the 1990’s during the course of his work. He discovered that as algae grows it draws on sunlight and carbon dioxide and as a by-product produces fats and bio-oils that have a structure similar to crude oil. It’s also true that algae grows extremely fast, and is very resistant to disease and other problems common with crops. So, because of this its one of the only research areas that looks like it could be scaled up to provide a significant amount of our energy needs. The fact that Exxon is investing so much money in this project is startling. In fact, an official from Greenpeace, who has been really skeptical of big oil companies investments in alternative fuels remarked that he was very encouraged, that it looks like Exxon Mobil has finally decided to pursue alternative fuels in earnest. Obviously people in San Diego are pretty excited today both from the direct economic impacts of this investment and the long-term chance to become a world center for bio fuels research!