Private: ABO Blog

Now accepting abstracts for speaking opportunities and poster presentations

 

MINNEAPOLIS – April 19, 2011 – The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the U.S. algae industry, today announced that the 5^th annual Algae Biomass Summit will be held October 25-27, 2011 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  ABO chose the location for the 5^th annual event – the largest algae-focused conference in the world – given the leading algae-focused programs at academic and research institutions in Minnesota and the growing deployment of algae-based technologies across the Midwestern United States. The three-day event will also feature a pre-conference finance symposium as well as a pre-conference workshop and tour hosted by the University of Minnesota. A preliminary agenda is available for viewing here.

The ABO is currently seeking proposals for speakers and poster presentations in biology, engineering and analysis, commercialization, and policy and finance. More information on presentations and potential topics, and how to submit a proposal, is available athttp://algaebiomasssummit.org.

“As the markets for products derived from algae continue to mature, and with several new production facilities scheduled to break ground this year, this is an exciting time for the industry,” said Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of ABO. “Our fifth annual conference will highlight the tremendous progress being made in technology development and deployment, commercial production, and policy and regulatory issues, as well as provide an unparalleled forum for networking and knowledge sharing.”

Speakers and attendees at the Algae Biomass Summit will include national and international technologists, producers, scientists, investors, and policy makers. During the course of the event, leaders and attendees will discuss issues of critical importance to the emerging algae industry, including the commercial development of algal production, current government and private initiatives, evolving technologies, processing concepts, life cycle analysis and project finance.

The 2010 Algae Biomass Summit, held in Phoenix, Arizona, was attended by more than 650 stakeholders across the algae industry from 25 countries.

April 15, 2011

Today, Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization, the trade association for the U.S. algae industry, released the following statement on BioProcess Algae’s opening of Phase II of its Algae’s Grower Harvester^TM bioreactors.

“On behalf of the Algae Biomass Organization, it was an honor and a pleasure to participate in today’s opening of Phase II of BioProcess Algae’s Grower Harvester^TM bioreactors in Shenandoah, Iowa. It was great to have USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack there to see first-hand how algae technologies can complement traditional agriculture and first-generation biofuels technologies. By co-locating algae farms at ethanol plants, we can create two forms of domestic, renewable fuel and anima l feed, while also beneficially re-using CO2 that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere. It’s an important demonstration of how the opportunities to deploy algae technologies extend far beyond open ponds in the southwestern United States. This is just one of the many algae innovations taking in nearly every state in the country.”

Recipients’ support of algae critical to accelerating industry’s growth and reducing major barriers to commercialization

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – April 7, 2011 – The Algae Biomass Organization, the trade association for the U.S. algae industry, presented its first annual Algae Industry Leadership Awards to United States Representative Brian Bilbray (CA), Representative Jay Inslee (WA), Senator Bill Nelson (FL) and Rear Admiral Philip Cullom, Director, Energy and Environmental Readiness Division of the United States Navy. The recipients’ support of algae has been critical to accelerating the industry’s growth, facilitating private investment and reducing major barriers to the commercialization of algae-based biofuels.

“Representative Bilbray, Representative Inslee, Senator Nelson and Rear Admiral Cullom have been steadfast advocates for products derived from algae. Their support has helped raise the awareness of the economic and national security benefits of sustainable, domestic algae-based biofuels. On behalf of our more than 170 members, I thank them for their support,” said Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of the ABO.

The awards capped two days of outreach and education to policy makers by the ABO and dozens of its members in Washington D.C., including more than 50 one-on-one meetings with members of Congress and their staff, and a policy briefing to Congressional staff and industry stakeholders.

Rep. Bilbray and Rep. Inslee are co-chairs of the House Algae Energy Caucus and have supported policies that would spur private investment in algae-for-energy technologies and speed the commercial deployment of algae-based biofuels. Rep. Bilbray recently introduced a bill, H.R. 1449, that would address one of the major barriers to commercialization: a lack of tax parity for algae-based biofuels. If enacted, the legislation would provide algae fuels crucial tax incentives currently afforded to other advanced biofuel feedstocks. Rep. Inslee is a cosponsor of the bill.

Sen. Nelson has been a leading voice in the Senate for the development and deployment of algae-based biofuels. In 2010, Sen. Nelson introduced legislation seeking to address the lack of parity for algae-based biofuels in the current tax code and in the Renewable Fuels Standard.

Rear Admiral Philip Cullom has been a leader in the U.S. Navy’s pursuit of a “Great Green Fleet” by 2016 and its commitment to the use of renewable fuels, including those derived from algae. In October 2010, the U.S. Navy successfully demonstrated a vessel powered by a 50-50 blend of the Navy’s traditional shipboard fuel and algae-based renewable diesel.