Charles Greene & Celina Scott-Buechler report in PLOS Biology that algae farming becomes a powerful climate solution when its CO2 drawdown capacity is paired with increased global food production and water reclamation.

SOTEC: Supplemental Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

This map shows the global thermal zones where traditional OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) is identified as possible.

McAlister’s SOTEC uses added solar and geothermal methods. This extends the potential for ocean-based algae-farming and energy production capabilities to the coasts of Japan, North America, South America, and Europe. SOTEC systems can also be sited in international waters.

Harvesting abundant energy, food, water, hydrogen, and carbon resources provides a new green economy driver for coastal economies. All done with zero-emissions technology.

SOTEC installations improve efficiency in energy production. They also create ideal thermal growing zones for algae biomass production.

“Today’s global food production system is unsustainable.

Shifting the focus of marine aquaculture down the food chain to algae could help meet projected global nutritional demands while simultaneously improving overall environmental sustainability and ocean health.”

In urban settings, vertical farming can have multiple layers of

• biomass algae energy crops,
• food crops, and
• fisheries.

The addition of a HydroCarbon Splitter™ completes a zero-emissions, green economy food and energy system.

This integrated system produces

• food,
• pure water,
• fertilizer,
• harvested hydrogen & carbon,
• and electricity.

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Urban vertical farms.

Coastal seawater farms.

Desert farms using saline aquifers and seawater canals.

Ocean-based energy-food-carbon-and-water production platforms.

This network will connect algae farms of all sizes around the world in the enterprise of converting CO2 from the atmosphere and the oceans into sustainably produced food, water, energy, and durable carbon for manufacturing.

• Small community farming coalitions feeding a regional HydroCarbon Splitting hub.
• Urban farms producing food, water, and biomass for onsite or nearby municipal HydroCarbon Splitting operations.
• Large agribusinesses adding algae biomass-sourced hydrogen and carbon commodities to their product lines.

Distributed algae-biomass farming and HydroCarbon Splitting scales up to the magnitude needed to achieve Net-Zero climate solutions.

• Hydrogen at volumes that can achieve widespread electrification with zero emissions.
• Atmospheric and oceanic CO2 drawdown at the scale and speed needed to reach IPCC projections for staying under 1.5° C.
• Harvested carbon that creates lucrative business opportunities in industries including semiconductors, electronics, construction materials, renewable energy equipment, auto and airplane parts, and consumer durable goods.