ABO Blog

Algae Biomass Organization Announces 2013-2015 Board of Directors

Diverse group from across industry’s value chain represents algae production, end-users and professional services

MINNEAPOLIS–May 14, 2013 – The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the U.S. algae industry, today announced the election of seven members to its Board of Directors for the 2013-2015 term. The new and re-elected board members join eight others that are already serving terms on the board.

ABO’s board guides the organization in its mission to educate the general public, policymakers and industry about the benefits of algae to address energy security, food production and sustainability, and to advocate for policies that can accelerate the development of commercial markets for products made from algae.

ABO’s board is comprised of representatives from multiple sectors of an industry that is seeing more investment as well as the commissioning of several large-scale demonstration projects across the country. Board members come from industry sectors that include academia, professional services, producers, technology suppliers, project developers and end-users. The newly elected board members are:

  • Tim Burns – BioProcess Algae
  • Jose Olivares – Los Alamos National Laboratories
  • Todd Taylor – Fredrikson & Byron

Four board members were re-elected to a new two-year term:

  • David Hazlebeck – General Atomics
  • Margaret McCormick – Matrix Genetics
  • Paul Woods – Algenol Biofuels
  • Tim Zenk – Sapphire Energy

These new and re-elected board members join ABO’s current board members:

  • Mark Allen – Accelergy Corporation
  • John Benemann – MicroBio Engineering, Inc.
  • Tom Byrne – Byrne & Company, Ltd.
  • Bill Glover – Boeing Commercial Airplanes
  • Greg Mitchell – Scripps Institution of Oceanography
  • Joel Murdock – FedEx Express
  • Philip Pienkos – National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  • Jim Rekoske – Honeywell/UOP

“ABO’s board of directors sets the organization’s agenda and plays an integral role in moving the algae industry forward,” said Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “I’m glad to see representatives participating from every facet of our industry; from those providing the technical research to those operating large demonstration facilities, to the end-users that have an interest in renewable fuels and other products derived from algae.”

In addition to education and outreach efforts with policymakers, ABO produces and hosts the industry’s premier global conference, the Algae Biomass Summit, which this year will be held in Orlando, Florida, September 30-October 3rd.

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.

ABO Webinar: Saltwater Resources and Commercial Algae Production

Last Thursday ABO conduced the first in a series of live webinars that are designed to showcase the people, policies and technologies that are moving the algae industry forward. This preliminary webinar focused on the interplay of saline water availability and commercial algae production for biofuels and other products. Presenting on the topic were:

  • Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization
  • Dr. Stephen Mayfield, Director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology at UC-San Diego
  • Dr. Mark Wigmosta, Chief Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • Dr. Erik Venteris, Spatial Modeling Research Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

The presentations were detailed explainations of the latest research on algae’s potential to thrive in salt water, and how the available salt water in the U.S. can support large-scale algae farming.

If you missed the webinar last week we have posted this recording of the event:

Algae Wins Unanimous Support in Iowa

Iowa may soon be joining Arizona and Ohio in passing state legislation that supports the algae industry. On Tuesday a bill to give algae producers the same property tax treatment as other agriculture industries passed unanimously in the state’s Senate. The bill will help put algae on a level-playing field with other technologies and feedstocks.

The bipartisan support shows that algae-derived renewable fuels, fertilizers and other products have broad appeal for their ability to enhance our energy security and provide economic development to rural and urban areas.

As more algae companies close in on commercial production, we are wondering which states will be next.

Unleash the Master Limited Partnership

One short piece of legislation recently introduced in Washington, DC as the potential to unleash a new wave of investment in renewable energy technologies.

The bill, the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act (MLPPA), introduced by  Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers would allow clean energy companies to organize as a Master Limited Partnership (MLP), an arrangement currently applicable only to oil and gas companies.

In a recent post on the National Journal’s Energy Blog, ABO Executive Director Mary Rosenthal weighed in on what this bill could do for renewable energy investment:

…this very simple piece of legislation will have significant benefits to our economy, our environment and our national energy security. By giving renewable fuel projects the same tax incentives and treatment that fossil fuel projects have enjoyed for decades, the MLPPA will help biofuel companies overcome the so-called valley of death – the space between successful pilot or demonstration facilities and full-blown commercial facilities. It will also increase investment opportunities for a wider audience, allowing more people to “vote with their dollars.” Last, by facilitating the commercialization of new fuels, this bill will help create jobs and drive economic growth across the country.

Read the rest of Mary’s column here.

The Future of Cleantech Looks Bright

It has become an all too familiar comment that American students are falling behind the rest of the world in math and science.  But as we highlighted back in March, young scholars from across the country are showing the promise that the next generation of scientists hold.  President Obama highlighted Sara Volz at the White House Science Fair last week, to showcase the inspiring work she’s done to develop algae that produce higher yields of oil for biofuels.  For her efforts, she won Intel’s Science Talent Search and a $100,000 scholarship which she will use to attend MIT next fall.

At this year’s Algae Biomass Summit coming up in October, ABO will again highlight rising scientific stars with our Young Algae Research Awards.  With all the recent highlights we’ve had thus far from rising algae whiz kids, picking this year’s winner should prove no less challenging.