As research and development into making algae a viable biofuel feedstock increases, Prize Capital LLC has announced its due diligence phase that will cover final planning and development rules. The phase will also include a schedule for a proposed $10 million Algae Fuel Prize focused on the growth of advanced fuels from algae.

"Significant research is already underway on creating commercial fuels from algae. Prize Capital believes the power of a prize can stimulate additional research and focus world attention on the creation of truly sustainable and scalable renewable fuels to wean our world off its addiction to petroleum," Prize Capital founder and chairman Lee Stein said.

While inducement prizes have been around for over 200 years, the Algae Fuel Prize will be the first application of the Prize Capital model. Under this model, Prize Capital selects teams from among those entering each competition and provides each with working capital to create prototypes, secure protection for their intellectual property, and potentially other essential needs. The concept is to provide financial leverage so teams of all sizes can accelerate their discovery processes, enhance the level of competition and speed a result, Stein said.

Stein said Prize Capital believes the Algae Fuel Prize competition will provide incentives to determine which of the thousands of algae strains are best suited for absorbing energy and producing renewable fuels, where these strains work best, how to most effectively harvest algae, and how to most efficiently extract the plentiful oil from within algae’s cellular walls at a sufficient scale, among other challenges.

He added, "The current research initiatives and venture capital dollars that are focused on developing algae and other significantly advanced renewable fuel technologies will benefit from the new minds, creativity, and media attention being added to the mix from this prominent competition."