ABO Blog

Algae Biomass Organization Recognizes Six Students With Young Algae Researcher Awards At Algae Biomass Summit In Orlando

First place awards for students at University of Texas at Austin and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego

ORLANDO –October 3, 2013– Six student scientists were presented with the second annual Young Algae Researcher Awards today in Orlando, Florida for their contributions to fields of algae biology and engineering on the final day of the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit, the official conference of the Algae Biomass Organization (ABO).

The awards are presented at the world’s largest gathering of algae industry and academic leaders to recognize outstanding research projects by early-career scientists that are finding new ways to use algae to create a range of renewable fuels, fertilizers, plastics and other products.

More than 130 applications for poster presentations were received by the Algae Biomass Organization from the U.S. and other countries, including Australia, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, France, Canada, Taiwan and Malaysia.

“We congratulate each of these young, brilliant and determined scientists,” said Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “The growing level of interest we see each year from young scientists making contributions to algae biology and engineering gives us high hopes for the future of the algae industry. ”

The Young Algae Research Awards are presented to winners for research conducted in two subject areas: biology and engineering.

For outstanding research in algae biology awards went to:

 1st Prize: Wilson Mendoza, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC- San Diego

2nd Prize: Anil Patel, McGill University

3rd Prize: Naoko Kobayasi, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The runners up for the biology category were  Manoj Kamalanathan of Monash University and Ryan Georgianna from the University of California- San Diego.

For outstanding research in algae engineering awards went to:

1st Prize:  Thomas Murphy, University of Texas at Austin

2nd Prize: Katerine Napan, Utah State University

3rd Prize: Pavlo Bohutskyi, Johns Hopkins University

Runners up in the engineering category were Alex Lunka from Ohio University and Martin Gross Iowa State University

The Algae Biomass Summit concludes Thursday afternoon. Information on the event, including a full agenda is available at http://algaebiomasssummit.org.  Ongoing developments can also be monitored via the Twitter hashtag #ABS13. Next year’s Summit will be held in San Diego, California.

About the Algae Biomass Organization

The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a 501 c(6) non-profit whose mission is to promote the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae. Its membership is comprised of people, companies and organizations across the value chain. More information about ABO, including its leadership, membership, costs, benefits and members and their affiliations, is available at the website:www.algaebiomass.org.

Products made from algae are the natural solution to the energy, food, economic, and climate challenges facing our world today.  Algae have the power to simultaneously put fuels in our vehicles, recycle CO2, provide nutrition for animals and people and create jobs for millions of Americans. More information can be found at www.allaboutalgae.com.

Algae Biomass Summit Opens with Focus on Meeting Customer Demand

First day features bold statements of growth and commercialization across a wide portfolio of products

Orlando (October 2, 2013) – The 2013 Algae Biomass Summit, the world’s largest event focused on algae technology opened yesterday in Orlando, Florida. Hosted by the Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), industry leaders revealed new production capabilities and forecasts for commercial quantities of biofuels, feeds, Omega-3 oils, plastics and other products derived from large-scale, industrial algae agriculture operations.

Speaking to a packed conference hall, executives from Algenol, Sapphire Energy, Cellana, BioProcess Algae, Heliae, Algix and Aurora Algae all emphasized scaling up production as the industry’s next major priority as it begins to provide algae-derived fuels and a wide range of other products to worldwide markets. Matt Horton, CEO of alternative fuel retailer Propel Fuels, showcased research results demonstrating consumer preference for algae-based fuels.

Paul Woods, CEO of Florida-based Algenol Biofuels, unveiled a new vertical bioreactor design that has allowed the company to achieve algae-to-ethanol production capacities in excess of 10,000 gallons per acre at competitive prices. Algenol also uses its algae to produce renewable jet fuel, diesel and gasoline. The company expects that the new system, based on simple, easy to set up photobioreactors growing algae in seawater, will enable a rapid expansion to commercial production.

“As fast as people can put up the bags, I can fill them with algae,” said Woods.

Algenol and Sapphire Energy both expect to meet production capacities in excess of one million gallons within the next year. That milestone was acknowledged as just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the industry’s goal of supplying markets with meaningful quantities of sustainable, renewable fuels derived from algae.

“A million barrels is a significant milestone but it’s only the beginning of what’s required,” said CJ Warner, Sapphire Energy’s CEO & Chairman, who reported on Sapphire’s success in the past year in bringing its pilot scale facility online, and announced they are selecting a site for a full production scale facility.

Beyond fuels, the ability of algae to be a source of fertilizers, feeds, plastics, and nutraceuticals was the subject of updates from executives at Cellana, BioProcess Algae, Heliae, Algix, and Aurora Algae. Algix, a Georgia-based company producing a range of algae-derived plastics, was among the companies expressing a growing interest in purchasing large quantities of algae from producers.

“We brought our checkbook and we’re taking orders,” said Michael VanDrunen, President and CEO of Algix.

The Summit will continue through Thursday afternoon. Information on the event, including a full agenda is available at http://algaebiomasssummit.org.  Ongoing developments can also be monitored via the Twitter hashtag #ABS13.

The Summit comes at a time when industry is increasingly looking for new sources of sustainable raw materials—feedstock—for a wide range of end-uses. Products made from algae are the natural solution to the energy, food, economic, and climate challenges facing the world today. Algae have the power to simultaneously put fuels in vehicles, recycle CO2, provide nutrition for animals and people and create jobs for millions of Americans without harmful impacts on freshwater supplies or valuable agricultural land. More information can be found at www.allaboutalgae.com.

About the Algae Biomass Organization

The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a 501 c(6) non-profit whose mission is to promote the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae. Its membership is comprised of people, companies and organizations across the value chain. More information about ABO, including its leadership, membership, costs, benefits and members and their affiliations, is available at the website:www.algaebiomass.org.

Increasing Demand A Big Theme at Algae Biomass Summit

The first day of the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit left a buzz in the halls about the pace of advances in demand, production and technology in the algae industry. You can monitor what’s going on and see a few pictures that attendees are posting on twitter with the hashtag #ABS13.

Biofuels Digest covered exciting news from Algenol on their production and competitive prices (75 cents below market), and ABO issued a press release this morning that details some of the other developments:

Speaking to a packed conference hall, executives from Algenol, Sapphire Energy, Cellana, BioProcess Algae, Heliae, Algix and Aurora Algae all emphasized scaling up production as the industry’s next major priority as it begins to provide algae-derived fuels and a wide range of other products to worldwide markets. Matt Horton, CEO of alternative fuel retailer Propel Fuels, showcased research results demonstrating consumer preference for algae-based fuels.

Paul Woods, CEO of Florida-based Algenol Biofuels, unveiled a new vertical bioreactor design that has allowed the company to achieve algae-to-ethanol production capacities in excess of 10,000 gallons per acre at competitive prices. Algenol also uses its algae to produce renewable jet fuel, diesel and gasoline. The company expects that the new system, based on simple, easy to set up photobioreactors growing algae in seawater, will enable a rapid expansion to commercial production.

“As fast as people can put up the bags, I can fill them with algae,” said Woods.

Algenol and Sapphire Energy both expect to meet production capacities in excess of one million gallons within the next year. That milestone was acknowledged as just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the industry’s goal of supplying markets with meaningful quantities of sustainable, renewable fuels derived from algae.

“A million barrels is a significant milestone but it’s only the beginning of what’s required,” said CJ Warner, Sapphire Energy’s CEO & Chairman, who reported on Sapphire’s success in the past year in bringing its pilot scale facility online, and announced they are selecting a site for a full production scale facility.

Beyond fuels, the ability of algae to be a source of fertilizers, feeds, plastics, and nutraceuticals was the subject of updates from executives at Cellana, BioProcess Algae, Heliae, Algix, and Aurora Algae. Algix, a Georgia-based company producing a range of algae-derived plastics, was among the companies expressing a growing interest in purchasing large quantities of algae from producers.

“We brought our checkbook and we’re taking orders,” said Michael VanDrunen, President and CEO of Algix.

Today’s agenda includes a number of updates from leaders in the industry. The day is just getting started so stay tuned for updates.

Media sponsor note: As part of Marketwired’s media sponsorship for the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit attendees can take advantage of a special discounted rate on press releases distributions. Marketwired distributions let you reach media and other influencers around the world, allow you to add SEO-friendly keywords, hyperlinks and multimedia like images and video, and give you a metrics dashboard to gauge your reach and visibility.

Stop by ABO’s booth in the exhibit hall the the Summit to learn how attendees can take advantage of this offer!

Young Innovators at the Algae Biomass Summit #ABS13

The Algae Biomass Summit kicked off yesterday and judging from the excitement here in Orlando the momentum around algae is stronger than ever.

In addition to the exciting agenda of commercialization and research updates there is a new event this year. The Young Innovators Lounge is specifically aimed at connecting the new generation of ABO members with established algae companies and researchers. The Young Innovators Lounge will be a place where ABO members that have recently finished their education, or are soon to finish, can showcase their curriculum vitae.

Additionally, companies, academic institutions and national labs will be able to post employment, internship and research opportunities. If you are one of the attending employers at the Summit ABO encourages you to consider posting job announcements, supplying company materials, joining them for a discussion, or browse CV’s for the newest and brightest algal researchers!

If you have materials which you would like to supply, you may drop them off at the ABO booth at the Summit.

Further, during each of the Energy Breakout Sessions, the Young Innovators Lounge will host leaders from both industry and academia for “round table” discussions to discuss research and speak candidly with young ABO members.

Stop by the ABO booth in the exhibit hall here in Orlando for more information!

Media sponsor note: As part of their media sponsorship for the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit Marketwired has generously offered to provide attending companies with a discounted rate on press releases distributions. Marketwired distributions let you reach media and other influencers around the world, allow you to add SEO-friendly keywords, hyperlinks and multimedia like images and video, and give you a metrics dashboard to gauge your reach and visibility.

Stop by ABO’s booth in the exhibit hall the the Summit to learn how attendees can take advantage of this offer!

 

Algae Another Way to Reduce Power Plant Emissions

Something was missing from the EPA’s proposal to regulate how much carbon dioxide can be emitted from new power plants: algae and other technologies that can absorb tons of CO2 as they grow. Reusing carbon dioxide emissions to grow algae that can then be turned into fuels, fertilizers, biochemicals or other products would associate a revenue stream with emissions reduction, rather than the costs associated with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), EPA’s preferred method in the new rules.

It is true that CCS has the potential to prevent a lot of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, but experts also predict it could as $60 dollars per ton of CO2 to capture the gas and bury it underground. This form of waste disposal is one way to reduce emissions, but options to reuse or recycle the gases also deserve to be included.

The EPA’s draft rule briefly mentions using CO2 emissions in manufacturing and production, but not nearly with the same level of detail as CCS. This is why ABO released a statement encouraging the EPA to include carbon capture and reuse (CCR) as an approved strategy for compliance under its New Source Performance Standard.

“It’s time to turn the lemon of carbon emissions into lemonade,” said Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “By transforming what is currently viewed as waste product into a new revenue stream, we can achieve a rare trifecta – overall emissions reductions, a return on investment, and job growth that comes with a new domestic industry for renewable commodities.”

In addition to the statement, Mary also chimed in on a recent discussion at the National Journal’s Energy Experts blog on the subject.

The EPA is accepting comments on the rules for 60 days (as of September 2o), and ABO is encouraging anybody that would like to see algae play a role in emissions reductions strategies to submit their own comments. ABO will be doing the same, but the more we let the EPA know these technologies are available, and that they can introduce a new incentive to reduce CO2 emissions, the better.