Does algae biofuel still have a wing and a prayer? US algae fuel company Viridos secured USD 25 mn funding from Bill Gates-led Breakthrough Energies, United Airlines and Chevron to continue developing the low-carbon fuel, Bloomberg reports. The new funding will go toward the company's efforts to genetically modify algae to produce low-carbon fuel for heavy, long-distance transport.

What is algae biofuel? Grown in ponds, algae biofuel or algal oil is an algae-based alternative to liquid fossil fuels that promises to produce lower-emission fuel, freeing up arable land for food crops.

ExxonMobil’s bye bye: The oil giant invested USD 350 mn in Viridos over the course of 12 years, but made a quiet exit — which was not made public until last month — from algae biofuel development. Exxon told Bloomberg that it is redirecting its investments to hydrogen, carbon capture and biofuels.

The latest in a string of Big Oil withdrawals: With the exception of Chevron’s involvement in Viridos’ latest funding round, big oil companies have largely stepped away from funding the development of algae biofuel, according to The Guardian. In 2011, Shell exited from the sector and BP and Chevron reported disappointing or insignificant results from their projects.

Why is it a risky investment? Algae researchers told The Guardian that developing the technology requires bns of USD to reap significant results and risks becoming a redundant investment for anything besides jets and boats as ground transportation has increasingly become electrified. The technology still has high potential for airlines, Bloomberg reports, with United Airlines’ backing — which comes from the airline’s USD mn sustainable flight fund launched last month — intending to explore how algae biofuels can be used for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).