Algae

To carry out military and humanitarian missions around the world, U.S. forces require reliable fuel supplies and secure supply lines. At the micro level, the military is as much at the mercy of high oil and gasoline prices as the average consumer. In addition, when you calculate the fully burdened cost of fuels, for instance a gallon of jet fuel delivered to the front lines in Afghanistan, it can be upwards of $400 per gallon. And, on a macro level, oil often comes from regions of the world that are not U.S. military allies. The need for great energy independence is therefore a very important national security issue.

BIO released a white paper on the growth and jobs potential of green chemicals.

Biotechnology research is important not only in the initial stages of developing algal biofuels, but also in optimizing algal strains for the mechanical engineering and processing needs of biofuel production.

The Department of Energy's Assistant Secretary Cathy Zoi announced funding of $24 million for three research groups addressing key hurdles in commercialization of algae at the 2010 World Congress.

One of the most promising uses of algae is as renewable raw material for biofuels.

Biotechnology is all around us and is already a big part of our lives, providing breakthrough products and technologies to combat disease, reduce our environmental footprint, feed the hungry, and make useful products.