If algae is going to take over the world (or at least make airplanes fly), we're going to need to work out a few kinks that come with growing the autotrophic organism. Lucky for us, a group outside Seattle thinks they've got some answers.

To start: there are three main problems with growing algae on an industrial scale.

One. Scientists are trying to find that perfect algae -- one that literally drips with the oily lipids that engineers and chemists can refine into a biofuel. Researchers are wondering if there is such a naturally occuring algae out there, or if scientists will have to create it (the latter option then opens the door to discussions about genetically modified organisms).

Two. Algae love light, but they are sooo selfish. Give 'em a few rays, and they grow and grow, multiply and multiply, into a thin layer all over the surface of the water. The layer then becomes a barrier, blocking the sun from penetrating deeply; block out the sunlight, and algae can't grow any deeper than a few centimeters. Seeing as we don't want to have to convert all of our land into acreas upon acreas of shallow algae fields, we need to find a way to grow algae to depth.

Three. Harvesting. As of yet, no one has invented a combine that can be driven over the water to harvest, separate, and clean algae. But to be fair, extraction is a non-issue if we haven't first figured out how to grow the stuff. Which brings me to Bionavitas -- the Redmond, Washington-based company that thinks they've solved problem number two.

Their solution to the light dispersion dilemma seems simple, if not involving some physics. They stick a long rod down into the water, leaving one end protruding above the pool. When sun lands on the exposed end of the rod, the light travels down the shaft, and as it does, it is dispersed to deeper levels of the water. Voila! says company CEO Michael Weaver. With the public launch of their "Light Immersion Technology" technology just yesterday (2/24/09), Bionavitas is now on the hunt for a business-partner, one that has solved the extraction issue (#3 above). 

Have they truly solved the depth-issue? I'm no algae scientist, and only time will tell. You can check out their product for yourself in this video taken at Bionavitas headquarters.

[Photo Credit: Algae on the Rocks, by "Akbar Simonse (still very busy)"; http://flickr.com/photos/simeon_barkas/1005670509/]

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Author's note: The first week of February, I was on the West Coast field producing Power Trip, a public radio series focused on the inventors, and inventions, that are going to bring us into the new energy economy. I hope to do a number of blogs on what I learned and saw during a roadtrip that included In&Out burgers (my first time!), biodiesel cars, and riding bikes at Google.