NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 

Efficiency & Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

Isolation, Preliminary 

Characterization and Preliminary 

Assessment of Scale-Up Potential 

of Photosynthetic Microalgae for 

the Production of Both Biofuels 

and Bio-Active Molecules in the 

U.S. and Canada

Cooperative Research and Development 

Final Report

CRADA Number: CRD-10-372

NREL Technical Contact: Philip Pienkos

CRADA Report

NREL/TP-7A10-55171

September 2012
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In accordance with Requirements set forth in Article XI.A(3) of the CRADA document, this document is 

the final CRADA report, including a list of Subject Inventions, to be forwarded to the Office of Science 

and Technical Information as part of the commitment to the public to demonstrate results of federally 

funded research.

Cooperative Research and Development Final Report

CRADA Number: CRD-10-372

CRADA Title: Isolation, Preliminary Characterization and Preliminary Assessment of Scale-Up 

Potential of Photosynthetic Microalgae for the Production of Both Biofuels and BioActive Molecules in the U.S. and Canada

Parties to the Agreement: National Research Council Canada

Joint Work Statement Funding Table showing DOE commitmen

Estimated Costs

t:

NREL Shared Resources

Year 1 $150,000.00

Year 2 $ 00.00

Year 3 $ 00.00

TOTALS $150,000.00

Abstract of CRADA work

Combustion flue gases are a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions into the Earth’s atmosphere, 

a factor that has been linked to the possible global climate change. It is, therefore, critical to begin 

thinking seriously about ways to reduce this influx into the atmosphere. Using carbon dioxide from fossil 

fuel combustion as a feedstock for the growth, photosynthetic microorganisms can provide a large sink 

for carbon assimilation as well as a feedstock for the production of significant levels of biofuels.

Combining microalgal farming with fossil fuel energy production has great potential to diminish carbon 

dioxide releases into the atmosphere, as well as contribute to the production of biofuels (e.g., biodiesel, 

renewable diesel and gasoline and jet fuel) as well as valuable co-products such as animal feeds and 

green chemicals. CO2 capture may be a regulatory requirement in future new coal or natural gas power 

plants and will almost certainly become an opportunity for commerce, the results of such studies may 

provide industries in the US and Canada with both regulatory relief and business opportunities as well as

the ability to meet environmental and regulatory requirements, and to produce large volumes of fuels 

and co-products.

:

In addition, algae represent an underutilized microbial group in the search for valuable bioactive 

molecules such as antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs. It is well known that microalgae are capable of 

producing food supplements and nutraceuticals such as omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, but the 
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ability of this diverse group to make other products of medicinal value has largely gone untapped. The 

strains that are isolated and characterized for biofuel production potential will also be tested for the 

production of selected bioactivities.

Summary of Research Results: 

Water samples were transferred to NREL from various locations in Canada. These were used for 

enrichment cultures to provide strains for cultivation in northern latitudes. A method was developed to 

deliver simulated flue gas to enrichment cultures and isolated strains to help ensure that isolates would 

be robust to large scale cultivation using flue gas as a carbon source. We learned that flue gas itself is 

not toxic, but can lead to significant drops in pH, inhibiting algal growth. With sufficient buffering in the 

growth medium, simulated flue gas does not inhibit growth, but actually stimulates growth and its use 

facilitated strain isolation. In May 2011, the NREL project came to a halt due to lack of funding. We used 

enrichment cultures along with fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) to build a culture collection of 

65 clonal strains. These strains have been maintained in cryopreservation at NREL and have been 

transferred to NRC in Halifax for evaluation.

Subject Inventions Listing: None

Report Date: 06/15/2012 Responsible Technical Contact at Alliance/NREL: Philip Pienkos

This document contains NO confidential, protectable, or proprietary information.