Author: Carrie Cox

The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) released a statement today expressing disappointment with the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed change to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that would, for the first time, reduce the levels of domestically produced, advanced biofuels that are required to be blended into America’s fuel supply.

The EPA’s proposed requirement for the year 2014 calls for significantly less renewable fuel than the RFS originally intended and also less than what the advanced biofuels industry has indicated it will produce. The proposal would require approximately 13 billion gallons of conventional ethanol and 2.2 billions gallons of advanced biofuels to be blended with petroleum-based gasoline next year. Those figures are significantly less than the 2013 requirements for 13.8 billion gallons of conventional ethanol and 2.75 billion gallons of advanced biofuels.

“The way to move the country forward is not to roll back requirements and goals for renewable fuels. There’s no doubt that America’s biofuels industry has been moving the country forward – creating jobs in rural communities, providing choice at the pump and reducing our dangerous dependence on imported oil,” said Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “The EPA’s decision to require fewer gallons of renewable fuels than last year is a clear step back and sends a chilling signal to investors who are looking to finance the future of the American biofuel industry, putting our economic and environmental security at risk.”

The ABO and its members plan to provide comments on the rule to the EPA during the two-month period that precedes a final decision on the 2014 blend requirements.

In cloudy Seattle you might not expect to find many algae companies, but the city’s thriving biotechnology research sector is making it the perfect place for one company to develop stronger, more productive algae that can be used by algae cultivators around the world.

Last week Matrix Genetics opened new offices and laboratory facilities in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, just a few blocks from downtown. The company offered a tour that ABO is officially welcoming into its 2013 Summer of Algae campaign, even though it came just as the leaves were beginning to fall:

Matrix studies algae to bring out characteristics that will make the organisms even more useful for producing renewable fuels, feeds, fertilizers and more. These improvements include higher oil yields, resistance to pathogens and predators, tolerance to a range of environmental conditions and more efficient use of light in photosynthesis. All of these can help algae cultivators grow algae more efficiently, which is exactly the kind of improvement that will help the algae industry succeed.

The new labs are part of an ongoing expansion at Matrix, including several new staff positions. During the tour we were struck by the commitment of the research team not only to the science of algae, but also to its application to global challenges in energy, food and medicine. That commitment goes all the way to the top: Margaret McCormick, CEO at Matrix is currently serving as Chairman of ABO’s Board of Directors.