Open Ponds

The cheapest and quickest way to grow algae is also the riskiest. The shallow pools get great sun exposure and have little overhead costs, but they leave algae vulnerable to temperature changes, animals, and competing algae strains. HR BioPetroleum sidesteps these risks by growing algae strains first in sterile, transparent outdoor tubes before transferring them to open saltwater ponds for a day or two -- long enough to flourish and produce plenty of oil but not long enough to be contaminated. HRBP thinks its method is the only way to mass-produce algae oil at a reasonable cost, and Shell agrees. The oil company partnered with HRBP last December to begin construction on a pilot facility on the Kona coast of Hawaii. HRBP thinks it can scale up production to open a commercial facility capable of making more than one million gallons of oil a year as early as 2011.