Cal Poly gets $1.5 million for algae biofuel research

Cal Poly will receive $1.5 million to fund biofuel research, according to a Department of Energy news release.

Cal Poly was one of two universities in the country to receive money to research the development of sustainable and cost-effective algae biofuels, according to the release. New Mexico State University received $5 million.

The Department of Energy also awarded two businesses, Sapphire Energy of San Diego and Hawaii Bioenergy of Lihue, Hawaii, with money for research.

This isn’t the first Department of Energy grant for algae research Cal Poly students have received; the Algae Technology Group, a Cal Poly research group, was awarded a $1.3 million grant in January.

The research projects build on the Energy Department’s effort to bring next-generation biofuels to the forefront, with the goal of producing competitive biofuels by 2017 and algae biofuels by 2022, according to the release.

This story was originally published September 9, 2013 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Cal Poly gets $1.5 million for algae biofuel research."