Royal Dutch Shell has formed a joint research venture with Hawaii-based HR Biopetroleum on a project to develop biodiesel production from algae. The joint venture company, called Cellena, will construct and operate a demonstration facility in a leased site on the Kona coast of Hawaii island. The algae biodiesel production process usually involves the cultivation of the algae in large ponds, harvesting and extraction of its oil, and chemical processing of the oil into biodiesel. According to the Shell press release, “the facility will grow only non-modified, marine microalgae species in open-air ponds using proprietary technology.” Indigenous algal strains that are approved by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture will also be used. A 2.5 hectare research facility will initially be constructed, and eventually move to a 1,000 hectare demonstration facility. According to the Financial Times website, Shell hopes to have a commercial algal biodiesel production facility in two years (about 20,000 hectares) with an expected oil yield of 60 tons per year per hectare. Algae have been seen as a “sustainable biodiesel feedstock” of the future due to the following advantages (relative to plant-based feedstocks): faster growth rates, large capacity to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, smaller space requirements, and can be grown in saline water. Because algae can be grown in water, algae cultivation do not usually have land use issues that are often associated with plant-base biodiesel feedstocks..