ABO Blog – Page 133

Another Summer of Algae

Today the Algae Biomass Organization announced the beginning of another annual Summer of Algae campaign. ABO members are opening their doors and making announcments as part of a coordinated effort to get the word out about the innovative work being done to commercialize algae cultivation as a renewable source of fuels, food, feed and speciality chemicals and plastics.

The Summer of Algae kicked off today with at event at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences’ National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA) in East Boothbay, Maine.

Other participants in the campaign stretch from coast-to-coast and include ABO members Algenol (Florida); Algix (Alabama); Duke Energy (Kentucky); Matrix Genetics (Washington); Montana State University (Montana); Sapphire Energy (New Mexico and California); and the University of Arizona (Arizona).

More information is available in ABO’s press release, and keep an eye on this blog for updates on individual Summer of Algae events.

The Summer of Algae culminates with the 7^th annual Algae Biomass Summit, being held this year in Orlando, Florida September 30^th – October 3^rd.There is still time to get early-bird registration rates, and ABO members get an even better deal!

Algae Biomass Organization Launches Second Annual “Summer of Algae” National Awareness Campaign

Events give policymakers and others first-hand look at algae developers and the technologies that can provide new and renewable sources of fuel, food and feed

Minneapolis MN (August 2, 2013) The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, announced today the kick off of its second annual “Summer of Algae”, a national campaign sponsored by ABO and implemented by member companies, to raise awareness about the promise of commercial algae production to create jobs, domestic fuels, feed and food products, as well as plastics and biochemicals. The series of open-house style events and news announcements will give local and national officials an opportunity to experience the research, products and jobs being created by leading algae companies and research institutions. The campaign officially begins at a special event today at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences’ National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA) in East Boothbay, Maine.

Additional events will take place throughout August and September culminating in the 7^thAnnual Algae Biomass Summit being held September 30-October 3 in Orlando, Florida.

The events feature a wide range of technologies and end products, and stretch from coast-to-coast, including: Algenol (Florida); Algix (Alabama); Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences (Maine); Duke Energy (Kentucky); Matrix Genetics (Washington); Montana State University (Montana); Sapphire Energy (New Mexico and California); and the University of Arizona (Arizona).

“As members of Congress return to their districts, it’s a great time for ABO’s members to showcase their technologies and products, and how they are creating jobs, economic development and domestic supplies of sustainable fuel, food and feed from algae,” said Mary Rosenthal, executive director of ABO. “As concerns mount about water supplies, drought and high gas prices, the algae industry continues to deliver on its promise of a sustainable solution to fuel and chemicals, human health and animal nutrition.

The “Summer of Algae” campaign events range in size from small briefings with local officials to larger tours of laboratories and commercial facilities to announcements about new and exciting technologies. The events will focus on the local impact the industry has on jobs and the prospects for commercial-scale production of algae-derived products that include ‘drop-in’ fuels, feed, nutritional supplements, specialty chemicals, plastics, and more.

The “Summer of Algae” culminates in the 7^th annual Algae Biomass Summit, being held this year in Orlando, Florida September 30^th – October 3^rd. More than 800 algae producers, researchers, investors and suppliers are expected to convene for the world’s largest algae conference. Information about the Summit’s agenda and early-bird registration rates can be found at http://www.algaebiomasssummit.org/.

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.

2013 Algae Biomass Summit Biology Track Announced

Yesterday, the Algae Biomass Organization showcased its upcoming biology track for the Algae Biomass Summit coming up September 30^th-October 3^rd in Orlando, Florida. The biology-related highlights of the event include:

Cultivation Ecology
- Robert McBride, Sapphire Energy Inc.
- Open Algae Pond Ecology

Photosynthesis and CO2 Fixation
- Shaun Bailey, Director, Photosynthesis Research, Synthetic Genomics International
- Global Transcriptional Regulators of the Photo-Acclimation Response to Irradiance

Algal Strain Development
- Matthew Saunders, Group Leader, Evolutionary Engineering, Sapphire Energy Inc.
- Microalgae Strain-Improvement by Evolutionary Engineering for Superior Biofuels Production

Physiological Response to Cultivation Conditions
- Halil Berberoglu, University of Texas at Austin
- Physico-chemical Surface Properties of Algae and Cell-Surface Interactions

When describing the event, Dr. Al Darzins, who will chair the Summit’s Biology track, said “The breath of expertise demonstrated by this year’s Summit biology track speakers is truly outstanding.” Continuing, he explains how the event “…can help bring cost-effective algal-based products to the commercial marketplace.” (You can find the full press release here.)

Countdown to early registration for the summit has begun, so make sure you register before August 19^th to take advantage of the early-bird special.

And don’t forget, ABO members get a discount!

Listen to ABO’s Webinar on CO2 and Algae Production

One of the big questions about President Obama’s recently announced intent to curb CO₂ emissions is how industrial emitters will be required to make reductions. Carbon Capture and Sequestration methods are one way, but these are costly and have yet to be proven to work at scale.

The good news is that there’s another way. Instead of treating CO₂ as waste – something to be discarded – we should be thinking of it as valuable.

The algae industry is poised to be a major consumer of waste CO₂, providing a novel way for industrial emitters to not only reduce emissions, but create a new source of revenue.

This was the topic for ABO’s July 25 webinar: CO₂ and Algae Production.

This recording of the webinar’s presentations begins with an update from Mike Evans at K&L Gates in Washington DC on the policy landscape for treating waste CO₂ as an input, rather than as threat.

Doug Durst at Duke Energy then discusses a project his company is undertaking with the University of Kentucky to capture CO₂ from power generation for use in algae cultivation.

Finally Tim Burns, President and CEO at BioProcess Algae discusses how his company is reusing CO₂ from an ethanol plant to grow algae that is harvested to create animal feed and other food products in Shenandoah, Iowa.

Mary Rosenthal, ABO’s executive director, moderates a Q&A session following the presentations.

Algae Biomass Summit Brings Top Tier Talent in Algae Biology Research

Top Scientists from Around the World to Present Latest Breakthroughs

Orlando, FL (July 30, 2013) –The 7^th Annual Algae Biomass Summit, taking place in Orlando, Florida, September 30-October 3 will showcase its Algal Biology and Research track with almost 30 presentations by leading research scientists and experts from universities, companies and several national laboratories. The sessions will inform technical audiences about the latest algae strains, innovative feed stocks and cultivation methods that are making possible the wide-scale commercial production of algae-based products.

“The breath of expertise demonstrated by this year’s Summit biology track speakers is truly outstanding,” said Dr. Al Darzins, R&D Director – Infrastructure Sector at the Gas Technology Institute and chair of the Summit’s Biology Track. “The breakout session topics are designed to engage Summit attendees in serious discussions regarding how biologists, working closely together with engineers, can help bring cost-effective algal-based products to the commercial marketplace.”

Highlights among the Biology and Research presentations include:

Cultivation Ecology
Robert McBride, Sapphire Energy Inc.
Open Algae Pond Ecology

Photosynthesis and CO2 Fixation
Shaun Bailey, Director, Photosynthesis Research, Synthetic Genomics International
Global Transcriptional Regulators of the Photo-Acclimation Response to Irradiance

Algal Strain Development
Matthew Saunders, Group Leader, Evolutionary Engineering, Sapphire Energy Inc.
Microalgae Strain-Improvement by Evolutionary Engineering for Superior Biofuels Production

Physiological Response to Cultivation Conditions
Halil Berberoglu, University of Texas at Austin
Physico-chemical Surface Properties of Algae and Cell-Surface Interactions

The Biology track is one of four tracks, plus plenary sessions and posters, which comprise the agenda for the Algae Biomass Summit. In total, there are expected to be more than 110 live presentations during the Summit. The 2012 Algae Biomass Summit was attended by more than 800 stakeholders from more than 25 countries across the algae industry. Organizers are expecting an even larger turnout for this year’s event.

The Summit comes at a time when industry is increasingly looking for new sources of alternative fuels, feed stocks, and consumer products. Products made from algae are the natural solution to the energy, food, economic, and climate challenges facing the world today. This tiny powerful organism has the ability to simultaneously put fuels in vehicles, reuse CO₂, provide nutrition for animals and people and create jobs for millions of Americans. More information can be found at www.allaboutalgae.com.

The Algae Biomass Summit is produced by the Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the US algae Industry. More information about the Summit, including early bird registration rates that expire August 19^th, can be found at www.algaebiomasssummit.org.

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.