Linde, Sapphire in algae fuel production deal

Munich, Germany – Linde Group and Sapphire Energy, Inc. thave signed a multi-year agreement to co-develop a low-cost system to deliver carbon dioxide (CO2) to commercial-scale, open-pond, algae-to-fuel cultivation systems.

Linde, a major merchant CO2 supplier in the US, will partner with Sapphire Energy, to reduce the costs associated with the delivery of anthropogenic CO2 for commercial-scale open pond algae cultivation. It will also supply all of the CO2 to Sapphire‘s algae fuel demonstration plant in Columbus, New Mexico.

“Producing fuel by algae using CO2 from large emitters like power stations and chemical plants is a very promising way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Dr Aldo Belloni, a Linde board director.

“To produce algal oil, or ’green crude’ at the scale to meet growing demand, we need … partners who can supply sufficient and low cost access to CO2,” said Cynthia Warner, president, Sapphire Energy.

“Linde has unequalled knowledge in how to efficiently manage the distribution process. Through this collaboration, we are closer to delivering a domestically produced, cost efficient source of algae-based green crude.”

Sapphire Energy has developed proprietary technology along the entire algae-to-energy value chain from biology, cultivation, harvest and extraction, to refining, resulting in a highly scalable process to produce a renewable and low carbon substitute for fossil-based crude oil.

Sapphire’s crude produces drop-in fuels – jet, diesel, and gasoline – that are completely compatible with existing infrastructure and engines. Algae are grown in salty, non-potable water, using lands not suitable for agriculture, and require only sunlight and CO2 to grow, all sustainable features which petroleum and most other biofuel options cannot match.

Sapphire Energy’s technology represents an approximate 70% reduction in lifecycle carbon emissions compared to petroleum-based equivalents.

A single commercial algae-fuel production facility is estimated to require approximately 10,000 metric tons of CO2 per day, which is comparable to approximately 30% of the current merchant market for CO2 in the US.

Linde’s experience in the supply of CO2 for CO2-recycling applications include the Organic CO2 for Assimilation by Plants project in the Netherlands. Here, it supplies via a 85-km-pipeline around 550 greenhouses with CO2, which is a by-product from a nearby refinery.

Linde also develops, designs, plans and constructs pilot and commercial facilities for capturing CO2 from various sources, such as power plants, chemical plants, natural gas processing, biofuel and other plants.