There is a flurry of research going on around the world on how to produce ethanol, the leading bio-fuel that could eventually replace oil-based energy. Some of the crops being considered are trees, sugar cane, corn, and switchgrass. All of these crops take an enormous amount of land to produce enough energy for our needs in a bio-fuel economy.

There is currently pressure being placed on the Brazilian government to open up more of the Amazon Rainforest for sugar cane production that would be used to create bio-fuels. If we used corn to create enough bio-fuel for our needs, it would take around 820,000 square miles of land to produce it!

This is where blue-green algae may save the day. Huge volumes of blue-green algae can be cultivated in dramatically smaller spaces.

All you need to produce ethanol is a source of sugar. Corn provides glucose. Switchgrass and wood provide cellulose. Sugar cane provides sucrose. There is a team of scientists at the University of Texas at Austin that have developed a strain of blue-green algae that can easily produce sucrose and glucose.

Even though we can use this strain of blue-green algae to produce small amounts of ethanol today, technology must improve before we can produce it on a scale that will be economical feasible. It is predicted we will hit the break-even point in about 15 years and there are literally dozens of start up companies in the field of creating bio-fuels from blue-green algae.

One start-up is working on creating jet fuel from blue-green algae. Another is working on how to harvest blue-green algae from contaminated areas. There are many other start-ups doing great work as well and the big oil companies are investing in blue-green algae bio-fuel as well. Even Bill Gates is heavily invested.