Abstracts Biological Sciences

Sustainability issues in the road map for Finnish companies to the Indian algal biofuel market

by Sari Kuusikunnas

Deplating oil reservoirs along with escalating energy prices have sparked interest in renewable energy sources globally. Especially countries that are dependent on imported oil are investing in indigenous biofuels. India has a huge market for biofuels, but the industry is still in infancy. The government of India sees biofuels as a potential solution for the increasing energy demand of the country and due to that India promotes the research and development of future biodfuels. Microalgae have a better oil yield per hectare than jatropha that is commonly used for biodiesel production in India, which makes microalgae a very promising energy source. In the beginning of the year 2012 a project called Algae Energy Business Opportunities in India for Finnish Companies (ALGIND) was launched to form the best possible big picture for enhanced algal businesses in India and to create business opportunities for Finnish companies in the Indian algal biofuel market. The project involves Finnish and Indian participants, including VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Lahti University of Applied Sciences. One goal of the project is to create a roadmap to illustrate the current state and the future trends of algal energy field from technological, economic and sustainable development points of view. The Bachelor’s thesis is part of the roadmap, focusing on the sustainability of algal energy in India. India’s tropical climate favors cultivation and even in conditions not suitable for food production. Since the food security of the country is not very stable, microalgae cultivation can offer a bioenergy source that would not threaten it. Algae cultivation can also be integrated with wastewater treatment and CO2 capturing. There is no algal oil production in commercial level yet, since it cannot compete with the price of crude oil. Technology needs developing and strict laws and policies have to be created to regulate the field in order to achieve blooming and sustainable energy industry out of microalgae.; Hupenevat öljyvarat sekä energiahintojen jatkuva nousu ovat saaneet monet maat kiinnostumaan vaihtoehtoisista energianlähteistä. Erityisesti valtiot, jotka ovat riippuvaisia tuontiöljystä, panostavat kotimaisten biopolttoaineiden tuotannon kehittämiseen. Intiassa on suuri tarve biopolttoaineille ja Intian hallitus tukeekin tulevaisuuden biopolttoaineiden tutkimus- ja kehittämistyötä, sillä ne nähdään potentiaalisena ratkaisuna maan kasvavalle energiantarpeelle. Mikrolevät ovat lupaava uusiutuva energianlähde, joiden öljyntuotto hehtaarilla on moninkertainen verrattuna esimerkiksi Intiassa biodieselin lähteenä käytettyyn jatrophaan. Vuoden 2012 tammikuussa alkaneen ALGIND (Algae Energy Business Opportunities in India for Finnish Companies) -projektin tarkoituksena on etsiä liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia suomalaisille yrityksille leväenergia-alalta Intiassa. ALGIND:ssa on mukana muun muassa Valtion teknillinen tutkimuslaitos ja Lahden ammattikorkeakoulu. Yksi projektin tavoitteista on luoda kokonaisvaltainen kuva leväenergia-alan…