ABO Blog – Page 135

More From the Next Algae Generation

Another success today for students that are looking to algae for it’s ability to provide sustainable fuels, fertilizers, and other products comes from Rocky Run Middle School in Chantilly, Virginia.

Three seventh graders from that school have just won the national championship in the U.S. Army’s 11th annual eCybermission competition. Divya Mereddy, Rachana Subbanna and Sneha Thandra, operating under the name Team STEM Ninjas, successfully cultivated an algae crop and processed algal oil into fuel.

ConnectionNewspapers.com has the full details. Congratulations to this team of the next algae generation!

The World’s Largest Algae Conference – View Online Agenda

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

8:00 am – 3:00 pm	Exhibitor Move-In
8:30 am – 4:00 pm	Florida Tours
5:00 pm – 5:15 pm	Ribbon Cutting and Remarks
5:15 pm – 7:00 pm	Grand Opening Reception in Exhibit & Poster Hall
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1

8:00 am – 7:30 pm	Exhibit & Poster Hall Open
8:00 am – 9:00 am	Continental Breakfast in Exhibit & Poster Hall
8:30 am – 8:45 am	Opening Remarks Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director, Algae Biomass Organization Todd Taylor, Partner, Fredrikson & Byron, and Program Chair, ABS 2013 Margaret McCormick, Chairman of Board, Algae Biomass Organization, and President & CEO, Matrix Genetics
8:45 am – 9:30 am	The Algae Fuel Solution – Updates from Algenol Biofuels, Sapphire Energy and Federal Express Moderator: Tim Portz, Executive Editor, Biomass Magazine Paul Woods, CEO, Algenol Biofuels Cynthia “CJ” Warner, CEO & Chairman, Sapphire Energy Inc. Joel Murdock, Managing Director, Federal Express
9:30 am – 10:15 am	Beyond Fuel – Updates on Feed, Nutrition, and Specialty Chemicals and Products Moderator: Jim Lane, Editor & Publisher, Biofuels Digest Tim Burns, President, BioProcess Algae Dan Simon, President & CEO, Heliae Mike Van Drunen, CEO & Founder, Algix LLC Greg Bafalis, CEO, Aurora Algae
10:15 am – 10:45 am	Energy Break in Exhibit & Poster Hall
10:45 am – 11:15 am	Keynote Address Matt Horton, CEO, Propel Fuels
11:15 am – 12:15 pm	Keynote Address Moderator: Laurie Purpuro, Government Affairs Advisor, K&L Gates Chris Cassidy, Renewable Energy Advisor, USDA Christy Sterner, Project Manager, DOE Biomass Program, Bioenergy Technologies Office Sarah Bittleman, Agriculture Counselor to the Administrator, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
12:15 pm – 1:30 pm	Lunch in Exhibit & Poster Hall
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm	A View of the Algae Testbed Program and International Consortia Moderator: Phil Pienkos, Principal Group Manager, National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Enery Laboratory Ron Pate, ATP³ Deputy Director, Sandia National Laboratories Rene Wijffels, Professor, Bioprocess Engineering, Wageningen University and Research Center Makoto Watanabe, Professor, University of Tsukuba & Senior Managing Director,Algae Industry Incubation Consortium
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm	Concurrent Track Panels Track 1: Progress in Algal Biology Research Physiological Regulation of Carbon Partitioning Panel Chair: Qiang Hu, Professor, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Emily Trentacoste, Ph.D. Candidate, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego Increased Lipid Accumulation without Compromising Growth: Metabolic Engineering of Lipid Catabolism in Thalassiosira pseudonana Yanming Wang, Research Scientist & Ph. D. Candidate, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Mixotrophic Continuous Cultivation of Chlorella protothecoides for Sustainable Lipid Production Egan Lohman, Ph.D. Candidate, Chemical & Biological Engineering, Montana State University Lipid Profiling, Carbon Partitioning, and Inorganic Carbon Optimization to Enhance Growth and Lipid Accumulation in Green Microalgae Danxiang Han, Assistant Research Professor, Arizona State University Lipidome Analysis of the Oleaginous Microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1 during Oil Accumulation Track 2: Engineering & Analysis Economic Analysis of Algae-to-Biofuel Systems Panel Chair: Ben McCool, Vice President, Engineering, Algenol Biofuels James Richardson, Regents Professor & Senior Faculty Fellow,Texas A&M University A Comparison of Two Cultivation Systems: Open Pond and Algae Raceway Integrated Design (ARID) Erik Venteris, Spatial Modeling Research Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A National-Scale Comparison of Resource and Nutrient Demands for Algae Based Biofuel Production by Lipid Extraction and Hydrothermal Liquefaction Jeffrey Moody, Research Assistant, Utah State University Microalgae Scalability: A Global Assessment of Productivity Potential and Resource Availability Lieve Laurens, Senior Research Scientist, Applied Sciences, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Composition of Algal Biomass for Biofuels and Bioproducts: High Impact Data and Method Harmonization Cara Meghan Downes, Associate Professor, Economics, New Mexico State University Formulation and Estimation of a Production Function Model of Biofuels from Microalgae Track 3: Innovation on the Road to Commercialization Fuel Production Innovation Panel Chair: Michael Lakeman, Regional Director, Biofuel Strategy, The Boeing Company Mary Solecki, Clean Fuels Program Director, E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) How the Low Carbon Fuel Standard is driving growth in algal fuels Rebecca White, Director of Cultivation & Site Manager, Green Crude Farm, Sapphire Energy Inc. Sapphire Energy’s Green Crude Farm – Year in Review Lee Tonkovich, Vice President, Research & Development, Heliae Good Science = Scale: Leveraging innovation for commercial algae production Hoyt Thomas, President & CEO, OpenAlgae Integrated Algae Growth with PCM and Solventless Oil Recovery Process Demonstrated Pat Leung, Global Business Manager, CRI Catalyst Co. Advances in Algal Biomass Conversion Technologies
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm	Energy Break in Exhibit & Poster Hall
4:30 pm – 6:00 pm	Concurrent Track Panels Track 1: Progress in Algal Biology Research Molecular Biology and Genetics Panel Chair: Al Darzins, R&D Director – Infrastructure Sector, Gas Technology Institute Sarah Smith, Ph.D. Candidate, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego A Global Regulatory Mechanism Integrates Carbon and Energy Metabolism in the Diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana Beth Rasala, Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of California-San Diego Genetic Tools for Microalgal Research and Biotechnology Michael Guarnieri, Scientist III, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Identification of Novel Cell Signaling Systems in Chlorella vulgaris David Fox, Scientist, Los Alamos National Laboratory Maximization of Isoprenoid Production and Extraction in a Model Organism Track 2: Engineering & Analysis Cultivation I Panel Chair: John Benemann, CEO, MicroBio Engineering Inc. Tryg Lundquist, Associate Professor, Environmental Engineering, California Polytechnic State University Influence of Wastes on Seasonal Nutrient Transformations and Harvesting Efficiency for Raceway Pond Cultures Terence Smith, Research Assistant, Utah State University Rotating Algal Biofilm Reactor for Nutrient Removal and Biomass Production John Hewson, Principal Member of Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories Recovery of nutrients from biomass for nutrient recycling Trina Halfhide, Ph.D. Candidate, University of South Florida Effect of Indigenous Microbes on Algae Biomass Production and Nutrient Removal Track 3: Innovation on the Road to Commercialization Biomass Production Innovation Panel Chair: Philip Pienkos, Prinicipal Group Manager, National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Schonna Manning, Research Associate, The Culture Collection of Algae (UTEX) Managing Microalgae at the Pilot-Scale Amit Vasavada, Program Manager, General Atomics Large-scale Algae Cultivation for Protein Production Adrian Galvez, Vice President, Operations, Heliae Achieving Commercial Viability with Mixotrophy: Proving Scalability and Economics in Gilbert, AZ Dil Vashi, Manager, Corporate Development, Solutions4CO2 Inc. Enhancing the Economic Model of Algal Bio-Products Ji-Won Yang, Professor & Executive Director, KAIST & Advanced Biomass R&D Center The National Policy, Investment, and Directions of Microalgae-Based Biofuels and Bioproducts Research and Development in Korea
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm	Networking Reception in Exhibit & Poster Hall
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2

7:00 am – 8:00 am	ABO Annual Meeting
7:30 am – 6:30 pm	Exhibit and Poster Hall Open
7:30 am – 8:30 am	Continental Breakfast in Exhibit & Poster Hall
8:30 am – 10:30 am	Concurrent Track Panels Track 1: Progress in Algal Biology Research Cultivation Ecology Panel Chair: Todd Lane, Principal Member, Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories Marian Vermuë, Assistant Professor, Bioprocess Engineering, Wageningen University Harvesting Microalgae for Biodiesel Production Robert McBride, Associate Director of Cultivation, Sapphire Energy Inc. Open Algae Pond Ecology William Henley, Professor, Botany, Oklahoma State University Initial Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified (GM) Microalgae for Commodity-Scale Biofuel Cultivation Val Smith, Professor, University of Kansas Ecological Principles of Algal Crop Protection Joe Weissman, Distinguished Scientific Associate, Exxon Mobil Algae Biofuels Program: Towards Improved Photosynthetic Efficiency Track 2: Engineering & Analysis Cultivation II Panel Chair: Harlan (Lanny) Miller, Director of Aquaculture, Algenol Biofuels Michael Huesemann, Staff Research Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Simulation of Outdoor Pond Cultures Using Indoor LED-lighted and Temperature-Controlled Raceway Ponds Michael Wilson, Research Engineer, Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky From Flue Gas to Fungible Fuels -Demonstration of an Algae-based System for CO2 Mitigation From Coal Fired Power Plants Halil Berberoglu, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin A Novel Multispectral Imaging Method for Real-time Algal Culture Monitoring Ian Woertz, Engineer, MicroBio Engineering Inc. Design and Construction of Low-Cost Algae Production Pond Systems Jose Sanchez Piña, General Manager, Algae Division, OriginOil Inc. Algae Appliance™: A Breakthrough in Harvesting and Microbiological Control for Commercial Algae Systems Track 3: Innovation on the Road to Commercialization Public Policy and Commercialization Panel Chair: David Schwartz, Editor/Publisher, Algae Industry Magazine Matthew Rudolf, Regional Director-Americas, RSB Services Foundation Emerging Sustainable Markets Tim Zenk, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Sapphire Energy Inc. Commercializing Algae to Energy In Our Lifetime Philip Pienkos, Prinicipal Group Manager, National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory A Place for Algal Biofuels Within the Energy-Water-Food Nexus Greg Sower, Manager, ENVIRON International Corp Production of Food Ingredients and Chemicals: Regulatory Considerations for Parallel Production and Dual Channel Substances Alice Chen, Scientist, Keller and Heckman LLP Chemical and Taxonomic Identity Hurdles in Regulatory Applications Pat Ahlm, Assistant Director, Government & Regulatory Affairs, Algenol Biofuels A View of Regulatory Affairs in the Algae Industry
10:30 am – 11:00 am	Energy Break in Exhibit & Poster Hall
11:00 am – 12:30 pm	Concurrent Track Panels Track 1: Progress in Algal Biology Research Photosynthesis and CO2 Fixation Panel Chair: John Benemann, CEO, MicroBio Engineering Inc. Shaun Bailey, Director, Photosynthesis Research, Synthetic Genomics International Global Transcriptional Regulators of the Photo-Acclimation Response to Irradiance Greg Mitchell, Research Biologist & Senior Lecturer, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego Pigment Packaging Effects in Thalassiosira pseudonana Under Light Regulated Steady-State Growth Robert Gardner, Post Graduate Researcher, Montana State University Characterization of Active Photosynthesis Zones iInside Biofuel Producing and Waste-Water Remediating Algal Biofilms Joshua Wilkenfeld, Algae Cultivation Specialist, Heliae Developent LLC Use of Flue Gas From Combustion of Landfill Gas (LFG) as the CO2 Source for Algae Biomass Production with Scenedesmus obliquus: Growth, FAME’s, and Heavy Metals Track 2: Engineering & Analysis Biomass Harvesting and Extraction Panel Chair: Philip Pienkos, Prinicipal Group Manager, National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Joel Krehbiel, Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Sciences & Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign Efficient Disruption of Algal Cells with Ultrasound and Microbubbles Jason Quinn, Assistant Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Utah State University Low Energy, Wet Solvent Extraction Martin Poenie, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin One Step Processing of Algae to Biofuel Jordan Smith, Engineering Director, Aurora Algae Engineering Economics of Dewatering of Nannochloropsis Track 3: Innovation on the Road to Commercialization Commercializing Commodity Products Panel Chair: Toby Ahrens, Senior Scientist, BioProcess Algae Pradeep Sharma, Senior Research Engineer, Algenol Biofuels Anthropogenic CO2 as a Feedstock for Cyanobacteria-Based Biofuels Ryan Hunt, Chief Technical Officer, Algix LLC Commercialization of Algae-blended Thermoplastics and Feedstock Supply Chain Pieter Boelens, Chief Operating Officer, Evodos Evodos@work: High Quality Output of Algae Paste Makes the Difference
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm	Lunch in Exhibit & Poster Hall
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm	Concurrent Track Panels Track 1: Progress in Algal Biology Research Algal Strain Development Panel Chair: Jianping Yu, Senior Scientist, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Matthew Saunders, Group Leader, Evolutionary Engineering, Sapphire Energy Inc. Microalgae Strain-Improvement by Evolutionary Engineering for Superior Biofuels Production Mark Hildebrand, Research Professor, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego Improvement of Lipid Accumulation in Microalgae by Mutagenesis and Metabolic Engineering Herminia Rodriguez, Institute of Plant Biochemistry, University of Seville Spain Metabolic Engineering of the Carotenogenic and Triacylglycerides Pathways in Microalgae Natarajan Velmurugan, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST Adaptive Evolution of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Strains Resulting in High Lipid Content Cells Jianping Yu, Senior Scientist, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Development of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 for the Bioconversion of Pentose Sugars to Value-Added Products Track 2: Engineering & Analysis Photobioreactors Panel Chair: Ron Chance, Senior Scientific Advisor, Physical Sciences, Algenol Biofuels Pete Lammers, Professor, New Mexico State University Bounded Opportunities: Physical, Biological, Material and Economic Constraints on Photobioreactor Design Yuanguang Li, Professor, East China University of Science and Technology Key Parameters for the Performance of Photobioreactor Lawrence Walmsley, CEO, Culture Fuels Inc. Highly-Productive, Low-Cost Floating Cultivation Platform Victoria Kurtz, Manager, Algae Technologies, Fluid Imaging Technologies, Inc. A Dynamic Imaging Cell Monitoring System for Real-Time Analysis of Algae-to-Biofuel Production Track 3: Innovation on the Road to Commercialization Commercializing Specialty Products Panel Chair: Mark Allen, Vice President, Integrated Carbon Solutions, Accelergy Corporation & Founding Board Member/Past Chairman, ABO Emily Trentacoste, Ph.D. Candidate, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego The Place of Algae in Agriculture: Where It Is, Where It Should Be, and How to Get There Greg Sower, Manager, ENVIRON International Corp Shifting Focus from Fuels to Foods: How to Enter the Food, Feed, and Nutraceutical Markets Emilie Slaby, Market Manager, The Scoular Company Protein Feed Market Dynamics and What They Mean for the Algae Meal Producer Brian Goodall, Vice President, Business Development, Valicor Renewables Commercialization of New Algae-based Omega-3 Supplements with High Bioavailability Wenguang Zhou, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota Innovative Waste-to-Algae Technologies for Sustainable and Environment-enhancing Biofuel and Biobased Byproduct Production
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm	Energy Break in Exhibit & Poster Hall
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm	Concurrent Track Panels Track 1: Progress in Algal Biology Research Physiological Response to Cultivation Conditions Panel Chair: Shulin Chen, Professor/Scientist, Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University Halil Berberoglu, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Austin Physico-chemical Surface Properties of Algae and Cell-Surface Interactions Jennifer Stewart, University of Delaware Growth and Flocculation of Heterosigma akashiwo on Industrial Emissions Rebecca Knight, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Texas -Austin The Design of a Low-Cost Photobioreactor for High Throughput Metabolomics Screening and Next Generation RNA-seq Transcriptomics Analysis in a Thermophilic Cyanobacterium, BP-1 Todd Lane, Principal Member, Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories Nutrient Recycling for Sustainable Algal Mass Culture Pete Lammers, Professor, New Mexico State University Some Like it Hot: Outdoor Cultivation of Mixotrophic, Thermo-Tolerant Galdieria sulfuraria in Closed Photobioreactors for Waste Water Treatment and Biofuel Applications Track 2: Engineering & Analysis Conversion of Whole Algal Biomass into Liquid Fuels via Hydrothermal Processes Panel Chair: Anthony Marchese, Associate Professor, Colorado State University John Holladay, Manager, Biomass Sector, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Technical and Economic Aspects for Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Algae Neil Osterwalder, Process Engineer & Group Leader, Sapphire Energy Inc. Production and Upgrading of Renewable Bio-Crude from Large Scale Algae Ponds David Lewis, Chief Technology Officer, Muradel Pty Ltd Biomass to Biofuel: Is Hydrothermal Liquefaction the Answer? Klaus Hellgardt, Reader in Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London Hydrothermal Upgrading of Algae Paste: Application of 31P-NMR Track 3: Innovation on the Road to Commercialization Production Process Innovation Panel Chair: Iain McNerlin, Business Development Manager, AMEC Nick Donowitz, Director, Corporate Development, Heliae Tales from the Other Side: Crossing the Valley of Death in the Algae Industry Xuemei Bai, Principal Scientist, Cellana LLC Advancing Commercialization of Algal Biofuels Through Increased Biomass Productivity and Technology Integration Philippe Bois, Director & Chief Scientific Officer, AlgaStar Inc. Commercial High Yield Continuous Algal Biomass Production Using a Breakthrough Bioreactor that Combines Light and Electromagnetic Energy Stimulation George Philippidis, Associate Professor, Sustainable Energy, University of South Florida Addressing the Challenges in the Commercial Cultivation of Algae
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm	Cultivating Relationships Reception in Exhibit & Poster Hall
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm	Managing Seed Cultures of Microalgae for Potential Commercial Applications – Principles of Bio-prospecting for Microalgae – Culturing Microalgae at Small Scale – Utilizing External Microalgae Management Services Willie Wilson, Director, NCMA, & Senior Research Scientist, Bigelow Laboratories for Ocean Sciences Jerry Brand, Director, Culture Collection of Algae, University of Texas – Austin
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3

7:30 am – 8:30 am	Continental Breakfast in Exhibit & Poster Hall
7:30 am – 11:00 am	Exhibit & Poster Hall
8:30 am – 9:00 am	2013 Poster Awards 2013 Scholarship Awards Announcing 2014 Summit in San Diego
9:00 am – 10:30 am	Algae and Finance Moderator: Todd Taylor, Partner, Fredrikson & Byron John May, Managing Director, Stern Brothers Mike Ritzenthaler, Senior Research Analyst, Piper Jaffray James Drage, Founder, Atlantic Venture Capital Jimmy Samartzis, United Airlines (Invited)
10:30 am – 12:00 pm	International Developments in Algae Moderator: John Benemann, CEO, MicroBio Engineering Inc. Song Qin, Chinese Academy of Sciences Roberto Armenta, Chief Scientist & Director of R&D, Mara Renewables Algae Fermentation at the Global Stage Stephen O’Leary, Director, R&D, Algal Carbon Conversion Flagship Program, National Research Council Canada Aviation Field Representative – To be determined soon
11:00 am	Exhibitor Move-Out
12:30 pm – 9:00 pm	FloridaTours
1:00 pm – 5:30 pm	Meeting Rooms Available Please contact ABO at info@algaebiomass.org to schedule

Heliae Raises $28.4 million in Funding

Arizona-based Algae Biomass Organization member Heliae announced this week that they have successfully raised $28.4 million from new and existing investors.

The funding will support the day-to-day operation and expansion of Heliae’s first commercial facility in Gilbert, AZ, opening this September. Heliae plans to use the facility to supply high value personal care and nutraceutical products for already existing customers.

From the Phoenix Business Journal:

“With our first commercial plant coming on line and this latest round of funding, the company is on track to deliver high-quality, algae-based products to the therapeutic, nutraceutical, agroscience and personal care industries,” said Frank Mars, co-founder and chairman of the board. “Heliae is delivering against our mission to advance the future of algae.”

The facility with be built out in two phases. The first will be tailored towards nutraceuticals from a strain of algae which requires extensive light intake. The second phase will utilize very low light conditions and will focus on personal care products, showcasing the diversity and flexibility of Heliae’s Volaris production platform.

From Biofuels Digest:

Heliae’s flexible Volaris platform combines the best of existing algae production models, utilizing both sunlight and low-cost carbon feedstocks to optimize output. Volaris is a mixotrophic algae production platform, a hybrid of known phototrophic and heterotrophic models, which affords decreased capital costs, reduced contamination and increased productivity and product optionality.

The future looks bright for this ABO member and we expect we’ll have more good news to report as things continue to develop.

See Heliae’s Press Release here.

BBC Highlights Algae as a Biofuel to Take us Into the Future

Recently, The BBC had a special on biofuels’; their history and where the industry stands today. The segment starts by discussing the innitial promise of certain crops until it was realized that many competed with food supplies for land, water and other resources. The 30 minute piece later goes on to highlight three areas for the future of biofuels: waste materials, algae, and bacteria.

The BBC focuses on a Cambridge University algae lab, California algae fuel producer Solazyme and two professors at Manchester and Exeter Universities experimenting with diesel fuel from bacteria. The algae portions do an excellent job of showcasing current commercialization potential and today’s major research areas.

We are very excited to see the BBC highlighting such an important topic and hope to see more about algae in the future!

Listen here for the whole special.

Algae Biomass Summit Announces Agenda for 7th Annual Algae Biomass Summit in Orlando, Florida

ORLANDO, FL – (July 2, 2013) – The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, announced this week that the preliminary agenda for the 7th Annual Algae Biomass Summit has been finalized, unveiling a list of algae experts and leaders that will be discussing the latest advances in algae commercialization, research and finance at the industry’s largest conference. The agenda for the Summit, being held September 30-October 3rd in Orlando, Florida can be viewed at: www.algaebiomasssummit.org.Among the agenda highlights are updates on the full range of algae-derived products, from fuels to feeds and specialty chemicals. An opening panel on the latest developments in algae-derived biofuels will include Paul Woods, Chief Executive Officer of Florida-based Algenol Biofuels and CJ Warner, Chief Executive Officer and President of Sapphire Energy. A second opening panel featuring companies commercializing high-value algae-based feeds, nutritional products and specialty chemicals includes Tim Burns, President of BioProcess Algae; Dan Simon, President of Heliae and Mike VanDrunen, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Algix, LLC.ABO chose Orlando for the location of the Summit given the presence of some of the industry’s most promising companies in the region. The Southwest has also recently been shown to have ample land and saltwater resources required to support a robust algae industry.“Algae is attracting more attention than ever because we are seeing, for the first time, new production facilities come on line and a growing array of algae-derived products, including biofuels, being offered to consumers,” said Mary Rosenthal, executive director of ABO. “Our meeting in Orlando will highlight the tremendous progress that algae entrepreneurs, researchers and investors have made around the globe. We expect announcements about new breakthroughs and deals in everything from algae fuel, fertilizers, feeds, and even services like wastewater treatment and CO2 emission remediation.”The Summit comes at a time when the industry is seeing more algae companies successfully move their laboratory breakthroughs into the marketplace. Many companies are opening large-scale demonstration and pre-commercial facilities, with expectations for expansion in the future. State and national policy makers are also taking notice. Arizona, Ohio and Iowa have all recently passed legislation to attract algae companies, and this past January Congress passed the first-ever algae biofuel tax credit.The Algae Biomass Organization produces the Algae Biomass Summit annually. The 2012 Algae Biomass Summit, held in Denver, Colorado, was attended by almost 800 stakeholders across the industry from more than 20 countries. More information about the Summit can be found at www.algaebiomasssummit.org.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. More information can be found at www.allaboutalgae.com.

About the ABO
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.

Contact Information:
Nate Kommers, Scoville Public Relations for ABO
P: 206-625-0075 x2
nate.kommers@scovillepr.com