Biofuel researchers at the University of Queensland have identified native algae species that could hold the key for Australia's energy production needs.
Manager of the University's Biofuels Research Centre Dr Evan Stephens says that his team has identified fast-growing and hardy microscopic algae that could enable cheaper and more efficient production of biofuels.
"A major new frontier is in the biology and developing new strains - and we've already made significant advances through the identification of high efficiency strains that have really stable growth, as well as being resistant to predators and temperature fluctuations," he says.
Dr Stephens claims that Australia could become an oil exporter by devoting a small fraction of its land to algae farms.
"If we devoted just 1% of our land mass to algae farming, we could theoretically produce five times more oil than we currently consume and potentially become an oil exporter, rather than an importer - we could be like the Middle East," he said.
Production is still expensive however, and viable commercial production has not yet been achieved in Australia or overseas.
"While we know that we can produce algae oil that is even higher quality than standard petroleum sources, we are working to increase the efficiency of production with the ultimate aim being to compete with fossil fuels dollar for dollar," Dr Stephens said.
Dr Evan Stephens, Manager of the Biofuels Research Centre at the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Producer: Matthew Crawford