Under new state laws aimed at increasing energy efficiency and independence while helping to reduce emissions, Hawaii aims to have 85% of all petrol-driven cars using a 10% blend of ethanol.
But officials at the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism have acknowledged that despite tax and production incentives for ethanol producers, Hawaii would be unable to produce all of its biofuels requirements from the six projects underway.
During a presentation at the Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy last week, HNEI researchers said they had identified algae varieties with an oil content of up to 40% that would be suitable as a feedstock for ethanol production.
HNEI researcher C. Barry Raleigh said that in order for the US to achieve fuel independence through biofuels with existing technology, all available arable land would need to be devoted to growing feedstock to meet the country's current demand for oil.
Raleigh said the HNEI was currently undertaking research to discover better techniques for cultivating the high oil content algae.
Current figures regarding the production of biodiesel in relation to land requirements already place algae considerably ahead of other feedstocks at around 10,000 US gallons per acre (more than 93,500 litres per hectare).
Palm oil – the preferred feedstock for the Natural Fuels project in Darwin, Australia – is considered the second most productive feedstock at 650 US gallons per acre.
Feedstocks such as soybeans or mustard seeds range from 40 to 175 gallons per acre.
For an island with limited land resources, algae could help Hawaii meet a greater percentage of its mandated biofuels consumption independently, according to HNEI.
Other researchers at the University of Hawaii are also exploring the use of microalgae to produce hydrogen in commercial quantities for fuel cell production.
