The world’s first wild algae biodiesel was produced in New Zealand by Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation.

Aquaflow announced in May 2006 that it had produced the world’s first bio-diesel derived from wild microalgae sourced from local sewage ponds. In front of a crowd of invited guests, media, and members of the public, the Minister filled up a diesel-powered Land Rover with Aquaflow B5 blend bio-diesel and then drove the car around the forecourt of Parliament Buildings in Central Wellington. Green Party co-leader, Jeanette Fitzsimons was also on board.

Wild algae grow in wastewater and are continuously harvested, one of the great benefits of algae over other land-based crops is that it doesn’t compete with food crops or agricultural land. Dairy farmers, and many food processors too, could benefit from recycling the waste streams that algae thrive in. The exact biodiesel manufacturing technology is secret, stated the release, but the process involves processing the algae pulp before extracting lipid oil, which is then turned into biodiesel.

According to the Internet