Eco Tech: California-based startup uses solar energy to convert CO2 into bio-fuel
Eco Factor: Bio-fuel made from CO2 using solar energy.
While the race to develop bio-fuel in a cost-effective and sustainable way is heated up, a California-based startup, Joule Biotechnologies is trying to take the lead with a unique process that converts carbon dioxide into liquid biofuel using a solar converter.
The converter contains an internal broth of gray water, nutrients and unnamed genetically engineered organisms that use photosynthesis to secrete hydrocarbons that can be used as fuel. The company believes that the process, dubbed Helioculture, could yield up to 20,000 gallons of usable fuel per year per acre of land for approximately the same cost as fossil fuels.