Maybe it's because most of us only come across it serendipitously at the beach, but algae holds a lot of secrets. Gopal Jayanthi and Susquehanna Biotech are hoping to change that perception and put algae back on the radar as a fuel source.

Algae is the fastest growing plant-like life form, grows in places where food won't, actually helps clean bodies of water and is carbon neutral. It's why Jayanthi, whose company is based in Mechanicsburg with labs at the Murata Business Center in Carlisle, believes algae should be mobilized to produce diesel and other liquid fuels as well as food additives and nutritional supplements.

The algae movement lost the momentum it gained from the U.S. Department of Energy's Aquatic Species Program in the 1990s because of low oil prices and poor technology.Susquehanna Biotech has identified an oil extraction method and the design for a photobioreactor in the hopes of taking algae mainstream once again.
 

Video by David Dekok