Be The First To Fill Up With Algae Biofuel

If you live in the San Francisco area and have a vehicle that runs on diesel, you could be one of the first ever to fill up your car with algae-based fuel.

But you better hurry – it’s only available for a month.

It’s the first time algae-based biodiesel is commercially available, and it will be sold at the same price as conventional diesel at four stations in Redwood City, San Jose, Berkeley, and Oakland.

The fuel blend will be 20% of Solazyme‘s (Nasdaq: SZYM) algae biodiesel combined with 80% conventional petroleum.

It will sold at Propel Fuel’s stations in a month-long pilot to – for the first time – test consumer response. Propel guarantees its performance.

"Propel is committed to providing our customers with access to the highest quality, most sustainable, domestically produced fuels, so we’re proud to introduce the next generation of fuels to the retail market," says Matt Horton, CEO. "Propel’s growing station network provides the critical link between these future fuels and today’s consumer fuel tanks, giving our customers a chance to make history."

Propel, which currently has 29 "renewable fuel" stations, hopes to build hundreds of stations like these in California.

In 2010, Propel received a $10 million grant to build and operate 75 retail renewable fuel stations in California from the US Department of Energy and California Energy Commission.

The 20% blend, dubbed SoladieselBD, produces 20% less carbon emissions and 10% less particulates that ultra-low sulfur diesel, according to the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL).

We’re using "some of the world’s smallest microorganisms to solve some of the world’s greatest problems," Bob Ames, vice president of Solazyme told San Francisco Chronicle.

Most diesel vehicles can run on 100% algae fuel, but that would would raise the price, so they’re starting out slow and will increase the blend as supply and demand rise over time.  

The market for algae biofuels is expected to reach $1.6 billion by 2015.