Algae Can be the Most Efficient Fuel Source

Algae are often considered bad because they create dead zones in the ocean and toxic waste when the  "wrong " algae blooms. But, as a plant, algae can be neutral carbon fuels, food, and products, even in salt water, even in the desert. To realize the products from algae, a team of scientists at the National Energy Renewable Lab (NREL), in Golden, Colorado, extracted algae secrets.

 "Ponds of toxic waste " come from a single-celled plant called algae. Many people are upset about algae, but at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), scientists are trying to make algae into plants and products that are carbon neutral.


Lieve Laurens is a senior scientist at NREL and chair of the Algae Program. He bridged research at NREL with the Department of Energy.

"We work in this laboratory because we believe that algae can really be beneficial. "