I saw the original article and considered it to be too bad that algae bio-fuels turned out to be difficult to separate out of the algae. If that technology was made to work, using salt water algae, there would be no need for new minerals for batteries or risk of secondary pollution from their disposal, the fuel storage and distribution system is in place. internal combustion engines would not be a disaster due using fossil fuels, and it would be a closed CO2 cycle. The algae cellulose waste could be sequestered so that fossil fuels CO2 could be removed from the atmosphere.

This is the kind of long term research that needs to be initially supported like fracking was. Frankly I think it would be far more valuable than fracking and for that matter, comparable in monetary and social value to cancer research.... Nope, more.