Aquatic Species Program

The Aquatic Species Program was a research program in the United States launched in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter and was funded by the United States Department of Energy, which over the course of nearly two decades looked into the production of energy using algae. Initially, the funding of the Aquatic Species Program was to develop renewable fuel for transportation. Later, the program focused on producing bio-diesel from algae. The research program was discontinued in 1996. The research staff compiled their work and conclusions into a 1998 report.

Around 1978, the Carter Administration consolidated all federal energy activities under the support of the newly established U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE initiated research on the use of plant life as a source of transportation fuels. The Aquatic Species Program (ASP) was a small research effort intended to look at the use of aquatic plants as sources of energy. While its history dates back to 1978, much of the research from 1978 to 1982 was focused on using algae to produce hydrogen. The program switched emphasis to other transportation fuels, in particular biodiesel, beginning in the early 1980s. In 1995, DOE made the decision to eliminate funding for algae research within the Biofuels Program. The Department chose to focus its on one or two key areas, the largest of these being the development of bioethanol. The Aquatic Species Program ended in 1996.

Microalgae are microscopic organisms that can grow via photosynthesis. Many groups grow quickly and are more productive than land plants and macroalgae (seaweed). Microalgae reproduction occurs primarily by vegetative (asexual) cell division, although sexual reproduction can occur in many species under appropriate growth conditions. Microalgae are efficient for fuel production and they are capable of taking a waste (zero-energy) form of carbon (CO
2) and converting it into a high density liquid form of energy (natural oil).

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