1 Challenge the future Aquatic Biomass at TU Delft Peter Mooij Ocean Energy kick-off Challenge the future

2 Why Aquatic Biomass If our energy would be derived from recent photosynthesis there would be no net increase in CO 2

3 Challenge the future Why Aquatic Biomass What source to use for fuels? Depends on: (Agricultural) land needed Freshwater demand Productivity Microalgae -> lipids -> biodiesel

4 Challenge the future Current status Microalgal cultivation takes place at small to medium scale. Only economically interesting for high-value products Topic of research worldwide

5 Challenge the future Key Research Questions Increase lipid productivity Light input Carbon allocation in microalgae Enhance solid liquid separation after cultivation 2 g / L starting concentration Come up with large scale processes Size of Portugal needed for transport fuel Europe Marine environment

6 Challenge the future Future Prospects More philosophical than technical -> need renewable liquid fuels -> algae are the best candidate Must be cheaper than drilling a hole in the ground More than scientific breakthroughs are needed

7 Challenge the future Role of TUD If society wants renewable fuels, TUD can help supplying the solutions to do so The core of the process is biotechnology But we need maritime engineering, process engineering, chemical engineering …

8 Challenge the future Key players Sapphire Energy (USA), Synthetic Genomics (USA), Algenol (USA), DARPA (USA) Beta-carotene production (Australia) Wageningen University (NL), University of San Diego, California (USA)