ABO Blog

We produce enough food to feed the word.

Malnutrition and acute hunger seen across the globe are not problems of availability, but of access and inequality.

The algae industry has been hard at work to address the barriers of access and inequality found within the global food supply. In Tess Riley’s article in The Guardian two organizations are featured – Antenna India and Antenna Spirulina – that are working together to develop spirulina programs that address malnutrition.

Those living in poverty in developing countries can use spirulina as a resource to access good quality protein. Spirulina has “the lowest land use per unit of protein and unit of human digestible energy”, which benefits the environment and improves food security.

Antenna India has realized spirulina’s potential and is currently growing spirulina to put within sweets for malnourished children. The organization also offers women in self-help microcredit programs low cost spirulina that is sold for profit within their own businesses. Antenna Spirulina supports Antenna India by selling the spirulina that is cultivate and turned into pills in India in Europe.

Learn more about how spirulina is bringing nutritional benefits as well as economic independence to individuals living in poverty here.

The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) submitted comments to the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy yesterday calling on Congress to ensure that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) includes timely approval for advanced biofuel pathways as well as requirements for advanced biofuel volumes that match production capacity.

Read ABO’s full comments here.

A robust Renewable Fuel Standard is key to ensuring there is a market for advanced biofuels such as those derived from algae, for developing new technologies and for reducing harmful emissions the come from using fossil fuels.

ABO’s comments note that several leading algae companies have partnered with major oil and refining companies seeking to meet their RFS obligations. These have helped accelerate the progress of algae-derived fuels, and were driven in significant part by the Renewable Fuels Standard.

The comments describe that positive signals from the federal government are vital when it comes to encouraging this kind of progress:

“Actions in Congress and at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to weaken the RFS have done real damage to advanced biofuels development. Ongoing discussion in Congress of repeal or reversal has chilled investment. EPA’s failure to approve proposed advanced biofuel pathways in a timely manner has further stalled development. And EPA’s 2014 proposal to roll back advanced biofuels volumes has shaken confidence in the core tenet of the RFS – market assurance for advanced biofuels developers.”

Uncertainty surrounding the RFS is only holding back the benefits these new fuel technologies can bring to our energy security, our economy and our environment.

 

ABO is pleased to report on the continued growth in support for carbon capture and utilization (CCU) among policymakers in Washington, DC. As ABO was busy last week submitting our own comments to the EPA in its proposed rules for power plant CO₂ emissions, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) was doing the same.

Sen. Whitehouse, whose district includes BioProcess Algae, co-founded by ABO’s board chair Tim Burns, made a powerful case for the economic benefits of CO₂ regulation and the need for explicit recognition of CCU as a compliance option. As ABO stressed in its comments to EPA, the proposed rule for existing power plants provides states a clear signal that carbon capture and underground storage (CCS) is an available technology option for compliance. Yet the rule makes no mention of CCU, despite the economic and environmental benefits of recycling carbon into valuable products such as algae-based fuels, fertilizers and plastics. Senator Whitehouse echoed ABO’s call for inclusion of other promising CO₂ mitigation technologies such as CCU:

“EPA should ensure that its final proposal captures the full technical and economic potential of renewable energy and energy efficiency to reduce emissions, and that all proven and effective measures are incorporated into its power plant standards,” Sen. Whitehouse wrote in his letter to EPA.

“EPA should also explicitly recognize the potential of emerging technologies that are not included in its determination of the best system of emission reduction (BSER) to reduce emissions, if states choose to invest in them.  In its proposal, EPA recognizes carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a potential compliance option, yet makes no mention of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies, such as algae, which could transform CO₂ from a costly waste disposal issue into an economic resource that will benefit industry, the environment, and ratepayers.  EPA should send a signal that CCU and not simply CCS would be a welcome means of compliance for states.”

We agree and salute Senator Whitehouse for his continued leadership on climate change issues and on the need for greater support for carbon utilization technologies.

This week marks a new era in international algae cooperation: the US-based Algae Biomass Organization and the European Algae Biomass Association have agreed to a partnership that extends the member benefits of each organization.

The two organizations have also agreed to collaborate to further the development of algae biomass technologies in the U.S., Europe and globally through events, conferences and policy advocacy.

ABO Executive Director Matt Carr and EABA President Vítor Verdelho signed the agreement this week at the EABA Conference 2014 in Florence, Italy.

Among the expanded benefits the agreement brings to ABO members:

• Shared calendars of events, meeting and conferences for both organizations.
• ABO members can now register for EABA events, conferences and meetings at the member-only rates. The same privileges apply to EABA members that wish to attend ABO events.

More algae companies in the United States are cementing partnerships with companies and governments abroad to build new commercial facilities, procure equipment or off-take agreements for algae biomass and related products.

Cooperation between ABO and EABA will likely accelerate efforts like these, and bring more algae-derived goods and services to the global markets.

This partnership is also another great reason to become an ABO member!