ABO Blog

Energy Department Awards $18 Million to Develop Valuable Bioproducts and Biofuels from Algae

ABO applauds the Department of Energy for awarding six algae technology projects with awards totaling up to $18 million to advance the agency’s goal to reduce the price of algae-based biofuels to $5 per gallon gasoline equivalent by 2019.

Congratulations to the selected projects: Producing Algae and Co-Products for Energy (PACE), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO; Marine Algae Industrialization Consortium (MAGIC), Duke University, Durham, NC; Global Algae Innovations, Inc., El Cajon, CA; Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ; University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA.

We’d like to thank all those ABO members that submitted applications. Your efforts help show the DOE just how dynamic and widespread algae commercialization efforts are becoming. Keep up the good work, we will continue our efforts to make these kinds of opportunities available.

Carbon Utilization Technologies Among Winners of Presidential Green Chemistry Awards

The Environmental Protection Agency today recognized several companies as leaders in green chemistry with the 2015 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards, and ABO is proud to congratulate two winners that are bringing carbon utilization technologies to commercial success.

It’s great to see the EPA recognizing the efforts to turn the climate problem into an opportunity for the both economy and the environment. These companies, and many others in the algae industry, are hard at work perfecting the technologies that can use carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as a feedstock for countless useful products.

ABO member Algenol was awarded for their algae cultivation technology that transforms carbon dioxide into ethanol, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. As described in EPA’s press release:

“Algenol in Fort Myers, Florida, is being recognized for developing a blue-green algae to produce ethanol and other fuels. The algae uses CO2 from air or industrial emitters with sunlight and saltwater to create fuel while dramatically reducing the carbon footprint, costs and water usage, with no reliance on food crops as feedstocks. This is a win-win for the company, the public, and the environment. It has the potential to revolutionize this industry and reduce the carbon footprint of fuel production.”

Also among the winners is LanzaTech for their progress in commercializing a technology that consumes industrial sources of carbon monoxide and other waste gases, turning them into ethanol and other products:

“LanzaTech in Skokie, Illinois, is being recognized for the development of a process that uses waste gas to produce fuels and chemicals, reducing companies’ carbon footprint. LanzaTech has partnered with Global Fortune 500 Companies and others to use this technology, including facilities that can each produce 100,000 gallons per year of ethanol, and a number of chemical ingredients for the manufacture of plastics. This technology is already a proven winner and has enormous potential for American industry.”

Congratulations to both of these companies! More information about all the winners is available on EPA’s website.

Want to see the algae industry in action? Come to the Algae Biomass Summit in Washington, DC! Click on the banner below to learn more.

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All Aboard! New Tours Added to the Algae Biomass Summit

The Algae Biomass Organization has added two new tours to the Algae Biomass Summit being held in Washington, DC Sept 29- Oct 2, 2015. Get  a first-hand look at the latest progress in technical and commercial developments, or network during a reception and exclusive nighttime tour of the monuments on the National Mall.

Read on for details about the exciting opportunities for attendees of the 2015 Algae Biomass Summit in Washington, DC!

Be sure to register soon! Early bird-rates expire this Wednesday, July 15!

Algae Innovation in Maryland Tour
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Price: $175  –Limited seating available–

Algae Biomass Summit registration is required to attend this tour!

Get a first-hand look at algae industry activity taking place just outside the host city of the 2015 Algae Biomass Summit!

You will also visit Baltimore’s inner harbor, home to the University of Maryland’s Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) and some of the region’s leading algae research. Enjoy a buffet lunch in the IMET atrium while you learn about other algae-related efforts in Maryland.

Maryland is home to many commercial and academic algae-biomass related efforts. During this tour you will visit HYTEK-BIO’s demonstration-scale project at the City of Baltimore’s Back River Waste Water Treatment Plant. At the Back River facility, you will see how flue gas output is captured from a 3MW methane-fired power plant and used to produce high value products from algae.

Lastly, just steps away from IMET, you will be led on a special “algae insider’s tour” of the renowned National Aquarium, our nation’s first aquarium, where you’ll discover the role algae play in the aquarium ecosystem and beyond.

Tour buses will depart the conference hotel at 9:00 am sharp and returns at approximately 4:00 pm, traffic permitting.

Register for the Summit today and select this tour ticket!

Twilight on the Terrace Reception and Illuminated Monuments Tour
Friday, October 2, 2015
6:15 pm – 10:00 pm

Price: $150.00 per person –Limited seating available–
Algae Biomass Summit registration is required to attend this tour!
Join your friends and colleagues as the Summit concludes for some fun and history on Friday evening! Enjoy dessert or a glass of champagne while watching the sunset from the ninth floor of the K&L Gates Building located just two blocks north of the White House. Afterwards, a journey to see Washington, DC’s “Illuminated Monuments Tour” under the nighttime sky!

Buses will leave the lobby of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel at 6:15 pm to head over to K&L Gates for an evening reception with dessert and drinks, followed by a 7:15 pm tour to view Washington’s famous National Mall and monuments, illuminated by lights as the sun sets. An expert guide will point out landmarks such as the Smithsonian Museums, the Washington Monument, the U.S. Capitol Building and the Jefferson Memorial, tribute to one of the United States’ most famous founding fathers. All offer incredible photo opportunities.

Next, join the group for a visit to the National World War II Memorial and a stroll through the National Mall to visit the Lincoln, Vietnam Veterans and Korean War Veteran Memorials. Time permitting, the group will have an opportunity to see the newest memorial in our nation’s capital, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Memories will be created on this evening while you visit the city’s most historic and romantic sites – Washington, DC’s illuminated monuments by night – returning to the hotel around 10:00 pm.

Register for the Summit today and select this tour ticket!

Department of Energy Commits $18 Million to Reduce Algae Fuel Costs

ABO applauds the Department of Energy for awarding six algae technology projects with awards totaling up to $18 million to advance the agency’s goal to reduce the price of algae-based biofuels to $5 per gallon gasoline equivalent by 2019.
Congratulations to the selected projects: Producing Algae and Co-Products for Energy (PACE), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO; Marine Algae Industrialization Consortium (MAGIC), Duke University, Durham, NC; Global Algae Innovations, Inc., El Cajon, CA; Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ; University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA.
We’d like to thank all those ABO members that submitted applications. Your efforts help show the DOE just how dynamic and widespread algae commercialization efforts are becoming. Keep up the good work, we will continue our efforts to make these kinds of opportunities available.

Algae Biomass Organization Applauds Department of Energy’s Awards of $18 Million to Develop Bioproducts and Biofuels from Algae

WASHINGTON, DC (July 10, 2015) The Algae Biomass Organization, the trade association for the algae industry, applauded the Department of Energy today for awarding six algae technology projects with awards totaling up to $18 million to advance the agency’s goal to reduce the price of algae-based biofuels to $5 per gallon gasoline equivalent by 2019.

“We are grateful for the Department of Energy’s ongoing effort to accelerate algae technologies that can become new sources of sustainable fuels and other products,” said Matt Carr, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “The potential of algae technologies underscores the importance of the Department of Energy’s support. All of these projects are developing systems that can use carbon dioxide as a feedstock for high value products, simultaneously reducing greenhouse gases while providing new jobs and revenue for a number of industries.”

The DOE’s funding will advance technologies in algae harvesting, cultivation and processing that can be used to produce fuels as well as other products that include feeds and biochemicals. The selected projects include: Producing Algae and Co-Products for Energy (PACE), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO; Marine Algae Industrialization Consortium (MAGIC), Duke University, Durham, NC; Global Algae Innovations, Inc., El Cajon, CA; Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ; University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA.

Products made from algae are the natural solution to the energy, food, economic and climate challenges facing the world today. This tiny but 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.

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.