HOUSTON, July 14 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corporation said on Wednesday it opened a greenhouse facility to grow and test algae, the next step for its nascent biofuels program.
Researchers from Exxon and its partner Synthetic Genomics Incorporated will use the facility to test whether large-scale quantities of affordable fuel can be produced from algae.
"It’s one step along a pretty long path, but it’s an important step," Emil Jacobs, vice president of research and development at Exxon Mobil, told a news conference held at Synthetic Genomics headquarters in La Jolla, California.
Exxon said last year it would invest $600 million over the next five to six years attempting to develop biofuel from algae. If it met research goals, Exxon said it would spend more than originally budgeted in the next decade, $300 million of which would be allocated to Synthetic Genomics.
The project would cost billions to fully develop, Exxon said.
Should all go as planned, an outdoor test facility will be opened in the middle of next year, the companies said.
Synthetic Genomics, headed by entrepreneurial scientist Craig Venter, is a privately held firm focusing on gene-based research.
Some strains of algae produce oil that can be converted into diesel and other fuels. To make biofuel from algae, sunlight and a large source of carbon dioxide would be needed.
Exxon has said it could eventually source its carbon dioxide for the research product from power plants, natural production or refineries.
Exxon’s biofuel investment represents a tiny portion of the oil company’s spending, which is set for $32 billion for just this year. That figure includes the budget of XTO, a natural gas company that the oil company bought.
Shares of Exxon were down 1.1 percent, or 68 cents, at $58.74 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
