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The primary aim of this R&D partnership is to test the hypothesis that algae biofuels could become commercially viable and make a meaningful contribution to meeting future energy demand.

Since ExxonMobil and SGI announced the algae biofuel program last July, researchers have made substantial progress, including isolating and engineering a large number of candidate algal strains; identifying and testing some of the preferred design characteristics of the different production systems; and initiating sustainability studies to assess the impact of each step in the process on greenhouse gas emissions, land use and water use.

The next major milestone in the program, expected in mid-2011, is the opening of an outdoor test facility. If research and development milestones are successfully met, ExxonMobil expects to spend more than $600 million on the algae biofuels program over the next decade, $300 million of which will be allocated to SGI.