Biofuel company Algenol will build a 43,000-square-foot laboratory and administrative offices in Lee County.
CEO Paul Woods said the company would begin two new programs - one creating biofuel from chemical feedstock and the other in carbon dioxide management - in Lee County. Bonita Springs-based Algenol will hire a minimum of 100 people, he said.
"We're bringing a whole new industry to Lee County and there will be nowhere else like it in the world," Woods said.
Algenol, which makes biofuel from algae, will present its plan to the Lee County commission Feb. 1 and the commission will vote on its contract Feb. 2. If that's approved, it will move its administrative offices to Lee County from Baltimore.
Commissioner Ray Judah, who worked with Algenol on the deal, said the development was important for Lee County business and to reduce the use of fossil fuels.
"Algenol is the catalyst for the type of high-tech research-and-development companies we need to attract to Lee County," Judah said.
The company received a $25 million grant in December to build a biorefinery in Freeport, Texas. It's also expanding at a plant in Mexico.
The company does not use freshwater resources, and since algae is not edible, it does not compete with food crops, such as corn-based ethanol.
Copyright ©2010
