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Prize announced for commercial fuel from algae: $10 million incentive modeled after X-Prize for private space flight. [North County Times, Escondido, Calif.]
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10/09/2009 10:41 AM ETOct. 9--SAN DIEGO -- Just as the Ansari X Prize jump-started private space flight, a North County venture capital firm has started a competition to produce commercially viable fuel from algae.

The Algae Fuel Prize, offered by Del Mar-based Prize Capital, was announced at this week's Algae Biomass Summit, a meeting in San Diego of experts in using algae for fuel, food, purifying water and other purposes.

The goal is to offer $10 million, the same amount as the Ansari X Prize, said Lee Stein, Prize Capital's founder.

Stein said the actual amount may change, because the rules and guidelines for the prize aren't final. But the main goal is fixed, he said, which is to add a new source of fuel and not to compete with food crops, as with ethanol made from corn.

"We want to work with third-generation biofuels: Land that cannot be used for food," Stein said. "That was our primary concern."

Stein made the announcement at the close of Wednesday's session of the Algae Biomass Summit, briefly taking the stage to show a video about the prize and explain its goals. A sponsor for the prize will be announced soon, he told the audience.

The Algae Fuel Prize's rules specify that the winner must produce 3,000 net gallons of diesel fuel per acre at a cost of no more than $3 per gallon. The net quantity is obtained by subtracting the gallons of fuel used in producing the algae from the yield. Prize Capital will also work to arrange buyers for the fuel.

More information is available at www.prizecapital.net.

Stein founded Prize Capital in 2006 to promote environmentally friendly technology. The veteran entrepreneur made his mark by starting companies such as First Virtual Holdings, established in 1994 to handle Internet payments. First Virtual was sold in 1999 and its patents are now held by eBay.

Prize Capital's goal is to bring innovation to environmental issues, and the prize is modeled after the Ansari X-Prize, Stein said. That prize was won in 2004 by a team sponsored by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Scaled Composites. The rocket for the spacecraft, SpaceShipOne, was made by Poway-based SpaceDev.

Biofuels have received a sudden influx of investment money and interest since gasoline prices spiked last summer. While algae-based fuels are being made now, they cost much more than traditional fuels.

Investors in San Diego County are bidding to make the region a center of research for making fuel from algae, aided by its coastal location and heavy concentration of biotechnology expertise. The federal government also has sponsored research into algae for biofuels, which the military considers a potentially more secure source of fuel than overseas suppliers.

Algae-derived fuel has the advantage of using water than can't be used for drinking, and doesn't divert from food production, as is the case with ethanol made from corn, Stein said. Also, algae could be farmed around the world, making it a potentially attractive occupation for poor countries aspiring to become richer. These countries will inevitably use more energy as they accrue wealth, he said.

"There's an intersection between the developed world and the developing world," Stein said. "There's 1.2 billion people who are living on a second dollar a day. When they get that second dollar, it's all going to energy or food that requires energy."

Instead of building a few extremely large fuel plants, the people of these developing nations might be able to create their own energy on the spot with algae cultivation in a large number of locations, Stein said.

The Algae Biomass Summit, sponsored by the Algal Biomass Organization, ends Friday. Visit www.algalbiomass.org.

Call staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at 760-739-6641. Read his blogs at bizblogs.nctimes.com.

To see more of the North County Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nctimes.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.

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