Construction is planned to begin in August and the plant is expected to be operational within six months. KBR will provide services including design for the pilot plant, project controls and other specialist inputs.
Colin Elliott, president of KBR Infrastructure and Minerals, said: “A focus on sustainability and the effects of climate change are forcing a review in emissions and waste management and therefore in energy sources of the future. The development of algal bioreactor plants is an opportunity for us to contribute to an important initiative which could have a significant impact in the future.”
An international consortium of researchers and private enterprise plans to build the pilot plant with three algal bioreactors (tanks in which algae are grown under light) to test the best design for optimum growing conditions.
The project, led by the University of Queensland’s biofuels team and German photobioreactor specialists, aims to create economically viable fuel for a variety of uses, KBR said.
