Biotech Updates

Queensland Opens Algal Biofuel Pilot Plant

April 17, 2013
Press release: http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=26054

In Queensland, Australia, an advanced biofuels pilot plant designed to produce clean fuel from microalgae-based systems was officially opened.

The Solar Biofuels Research Centre, located at Pinjarra Hills in Brisbane, was developed by the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) of the University of Queensland (UQ) in partnership with the Queensland Government, KBR Inc., Neste Oil Corp, Cement Australia Pty Ltd, Siemens, Bielefeld University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

The $3.5 million project has the potential to benefit regional and rural communities through developing economically viable methods of producing biofuels and other commodities including animal feeds. The new Solar Biofuels Research Centre will allow UQ scientists and economists to work alongside industry to demonstrate the commercial competitiveness of algae-based biofuel technology and to move the world closer to a sustainable mix of clean energy solutions.