It is said that the global economy is starting to come out of recession, and that as a result, the demand for engineering consults will grow. This news comes after many months of doubt within the industry about how it may be affected by the economic downturn. In fact, it is believed that demand for the services offered by engineering companies will increase dramatically, especially as the Government pushes for changes to meet the demand for low carbon technology.

One of the ground breaking changes has been the change in attitude towards investing in more sustainable energy alternatives by the major oil companies. Many believed that oil bosses would not budge on their approach to producing oil and dealing with the consequent carbon dioxide emissions. However, it appears that a major company has spent the last few years brainstorming the problem to try and come up with a viable economic solution that will not only meet the demands of oil hungry nations, but will tackle the issue of climate changing emissions.

Engineering consultants in the industry are known for spending time on a project, and the latest is no exception. Researchers have been attempting to change algae gene structure so that instead of producing lipids from carbon dioxide, they produce hydrocarbons the same as the oil that is pumped from the ground. A further genetic tweak to make the algae over-produce, means that the oil can be harvested and used to meet current oil demands. It will be a simple switch from using oil produced from the ground to using oil produced out of the atmosphere.

One researcher has said that once proposed carbon dioxide sequestration programmes were underway, this would ensure that carbon dioxide produced by the algae will be captured, which in turn would be used to make them produce more oil. It is a symbiotic system, which if successful will be a viable solution for tackling increasing emissions and preventing economic collapse through lack oil availability; whilst at the same time generating a profit for companies involved. Apparently the fact that Engineering Consultants in the oil industry have started to take notice of such research is sign that fossil fuels from algae have a real chance of making an impact on worldwide oil consumption.

It is thought that the first applications for such oil will be for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. After this the focus would be on manufacturing products that would ordinarily be made from ground extracted oil such as plastics, textiles and medicines.