Thismisnt just the future, it's the present. This is pretty well developed, and has been done in production quantities for over twenty years. Ironically most of the foundational research was done in the middle east. In the US, it is currently produced in production quantities in southern California, where the products are gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
The type of algae is the key. The algaes used store excess fat when they get more energy than they can use, so they become little fat globules. These globules are surprisingly easy to turn into fuel that meets all current fuel quantity standards.
We are hearing more about it now because it is getting price competitive with petroleum based fuels.
One of the grat things about this is that no change is needed to the existing fuel infrastructure. A tanker of gasoline made from algae can supply your local gas station, without modifications.