CEO touts algae as biofuel future

Ross Youngs, a CEO of a Marysville, Ohio, company, spoke to an audience of University of Cincinnati students during his visit Wednesday about an unlikely subject: algae.

The purpose of his visit was to explain the technology being used to harvest and process algae into sustainable plastics.

Algae-based plastics are every bit as structurally sound and reliable as petroleum-based plastics, Youngs said.

“One of the things we’ve wanted to do is show the potential of algae to as many people as possible,” he said. “There really isn’t anything negative we see about algae at all.”

Univenture Inc., Youngs’s company, specializes in producing plastic packaging for such items as DVDs and CDs.  AlgaeVenture Systems, a subsidy of Univenture, was formed explicitly to research the uses of the microorganism.

The largest portion of Youngs’s presentation, which took place in the MainStreet Cinema in Tangeman University Center, concerned the potential of using algae as a biofuel, replacing the more widely known crop, corn.

“Less than one county, say, 30 percent of Franklin County, growing algae would provide the same amount of revenue as corn and soybeans statewide,” Youngs said.

Although the figure takes into account algae’s harvest rate and a projected demand, Youngs is confident in his prediction because of algae’s versatility and rapid growth.

“Essentially, if you had this entire auditorium filled with algae and had enough light, water and space, it could double in two hours,” he said. “Virtually every biomass out there doesn’t offer the sustainability that algae does.”

AlgaeVenture officials say they have found a simple way to separate the algae from liquid that lowers the cost of extraction more than 90 percent compared to techniques currently being used.

“This is something people all over the world can make in the garage if they wanted,”
Youngs said.

Despite such a seemingly good deal, Youngs pointed out that America is looking too much into the immediate future in terms of investment.

“One of the things I’ve noticed about companies now is that they look into the quarter. We are looking into the next four or five years,” Youngs said. “Last year was the only year a foreign country spent more on [research and development than the United States].”

The presentation was part of UC’s Climate Commitment 101 Lecture Series presented through the President’s Advisory Council on Environment & Sustainability.

Shawn Tubb, a graduate student and PACES coordinator, said that the series presents up to a dozen lectures per year.

“The audiences vary from 30 to 90 people for an event,” he said. “The audience changes every time, too. Last time we had a lecture about mountaintop removal and there were a lot of geology people here, and this time, there were mostly biology and engineering people.”

“I’ve been following [algae as a biofuel] for a year and a half,” said Andrew Schroder, a mechanical engineering graduate student. “Technology is lacking in this area and I’m glad someone is taking an initiative.”

Another mechanical engineering graduate student, Gabriel Wickizer, agreed with Schroder.

“[Youngs is] a guy with a good eye for opportunity,” Wickizer said. “He knows current sustainability goals and uses simple technology, which is fundamental.”

Youngs, who is still in the process of looking for ways to make the process and equipment more efficient, is looking to the future.

“It’s about getting the word out,” he said. “We need to get the leaders of the world to see how important [algae as biofuel] really is.”