On July 9, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $18 million in funding for six projects to develop bioproducts and biofuels from algae. The funding is intended to reduce the cost of algae-based biofuels to less than $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) by 2019 to help reach DOE's target of $3 per gge for advanced algal biofuels by 2030. The projects that were selected for the funding are run by Producing Algae and Co-Products for Energy (PACE), Marine Algae Industrialization Consortium (MAGIC), Global Algae Innovations, Arizona State University, the University of California, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The projects aim to increase algal biofuel efficiency and sustainability by maximizing the productivity and recovery of materials used in fuel production, as well as researching ways to protect algae production ponds and ensure crop health by developing probiotic bacteria to fight pond infections and infestations.

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