I'm shocked!!!
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-10/exxon-retreats-from-major-climate-effort-to-make-biofuels-from-algae
After advertising its efforts to produce environmentally friendly fuels from algae for over a decade, Exxon Mobil Corp. is now quietly walking away from its most heavily publicized climate solution.
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Exxon confirmed that it’s pulling back on funding for algae in favor of other technologies now being worked on by its Low Carbon Solutions division. “At this point we have other programs that are ready for deployment,” said Vijay Swarup, Exxon’s senior director of technology who ran algae research. “We need to get on the deployment curve for carbon capture, for hydrogen, for biofuels. Algae still needs some more work.”
Exxon is retreating from algae despite a smashing financial performance last year, in which it posted a record-breaking $59 billion in profits. And it comes just as the algae research has shown significant progress: Viridos and Exxon achieved significant improvements in recent years, including a seven-fold increase in the productivity of algae grown in outdoor ponds, according to Viridos Chief Executive Officer Oliver Fetzer.
Algae has long played an intriguing role at Exxon. The company, more than any other, has received criticism for being the most recalcitrant on climate change, becoming the subject of lawsuits, protests and years of political scrutiny over its long-term commitment to fossil fuels even as global warming gathers pace. As criticism poured in, Exxon frequently held up its algae efforts as one significant piece of evidence that it was serious about climate change and discovering cleaner forms of energy. “They’ve been trying to create the impression that they’re part of the solution, when they’re certainly not,” said Robert Brulle, a visiting professor at Brown University who has studied the promotional activities of the fossil fuels industry.
In an interview, Exxon officials rejected the suggestion that algae was some sort of greenwashing attempt. “The progress we’ve made to this point is remarkable,” Swarup said, adding that algae still has enormous future potential. “Where we are with the algae today is further along than, quite frankly, anyone has ever been with algae, in terms of productivity, in terms of the ability to replicate the results outdoors.”
All told, the company spent more than $350 million dollars trying to develop biofuels from algae, which was more than double what the company spent on algae advertising, spokesman Casey Norton said.
While recent progress with Viridos was significant, Exxon is prioritizing other low-carbon solutions — including spending billions of dollars on carbon capture and storage — because it remains extremely challenging to produce large quantities of algae biofuels at a profit. Exxon will invest $17 billion over the next five years on initiatives that will lower emissions and help achieve its goal of eliminating emissions from its operations by 2050. “Our objective is to commercialize technologies,” said Swarup. “We still have a healthy portfolio of R&D programs in the lower-carbon space.”
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Emboldened by the progress, Exxon declared in 2018 that it would target commercial production with the ability to produce 10,000 barrels a day of algae biofuels by 2025. An Exxon press release from this period quoted Swarup heralding the push into “lower-emission technologies to help reduce the risk of climate change.” That year, Swarup appeared at the South by Southwest festival in Austin to publicize the algae program.
Exxon’s marketing machine kicked into high gear. In one ad that appeared on national television, a guitar bangs out a gritty version of “Farmer in the Dell,” as the sun peaks up over massive ponds full of green liquid sloshed along by paddlewheels. The words “more energy and fewer emissions” splash across the screen. The ad concludes with an Exxon scientist saying with a confident grin, “Someday, you might be calling me an energy farmer.”