by Laura Conaway

A veteran of the race to map the human genome is back with a new idea. J. Craig Venter, founder and CEO of Synthetic Genomics Inc., just signed an agreement with Exxon Mobil to develop fuel from algae. Exxon is investing $600 million in the project.

Venter talked to NPR's Robert Siegel today about the project. He explained that algae grows faster than other plants scientists are considering as possible biofuels, including switchgrass. Algae solves the biggest problem for alternative energy sources. Venter explains:

"Scale is the big challenge. For a scientist such as myself, going from a test tube to a beaker is usually considered a scale-up reaction. If we can't produce billions of gallons eventually, all this is really just hot air."

After the jump, a couple of other challenges.

 

Venter explained that scientists extract fatty hydrocarbons from the algae for fuel. He says they've engineered algae to create these hydrocarbons continuously, turning them into "bio-reactors."

Siegel asked Venter if he worried about any unintended consequences of farming algae that way. The first challenge, Venter said, is to figure out whether the yield is greater if the algae are grown in the open or within an enclosure. Next, he said, is keeping the crop from spreading beyond the boundaries of the project:

"I think we need to give some considerable thought to that, to making sure we're not introducing some species into environments where they're not already there."

Venter's best guess on when algae-based fuel could be powering cars? Five to 10 years, he said.