For palm oil sourced
biodiesel to be competitive with petrodiesel, the price
of palm oil should not exceed $0.48/L, assuming an
absence of tax on biodiesel. Using the same analogy, a
reasonable target price for microalgal oil is $0.48/L for
algal diesel to be cost competitive with petrodiesel.
Elimination of dependence on petroleum diesel and
environmental sustainability require reducing the cost
of production of algal oil from about $2.80/L to $0.48/
L. This is a strategic objective. The cost reduction
necessary declines to $0.72, if the algal biomass is
produced in photobioreactors and contains 70% oil by
weight. These desired levels of cost reduction are
substantial, but attainable