Powering the Future: Will Algae Fuel Your Next Car? Scientists’ are increasingly looking to algae for its potential to replace petroleum because it is considered a carbon neutral energy source and does not compete with food crops in the way other biofuels such as corn-derived ethanol or vegetable oil do. Rutgers has one of the largest algae research centers in the nation where a team of researchers lead by Director of the Rutgers Energy Institute, Paul Falkowski is attempting to make algae more efficient in producing usable biofuel through genetic modification.
