Author: Carrie Cox

Algae Biomass Organization Launches AllAboutAlgae.com to Educate and Inspire Consumers about the Potential of Algae

Comprehensive website offers information, videos and photos about algae’s potential as a feedstock for fuel, food and feed 

ORLANDO, Fla. – February 6, 2012 – The Algae Biomass Organization today launchedAllaboutalgae.com, a new website designed to showcase the potential of algae-based products to provide sustainable and scalable sources of food, energy and fuel. The website, developed in concert with the National Biodiesel Board provides information, videos and photos all about algae-derived products such as biodiesel, aviation fuel, biochemicals, animal feed and nutritional supplements.

Allaboutalgae.com is the first site designed to showcase algae’s potential for everyone – from those just learning about algae to seasoned algae enthusiasts and entrepreneurs looking for the latest information on the industry’s progress toward meeting challenges in energy security, food production and sustainability.

“With global population expected to reach 9 billion in the next decades, we must find additional sustainable sources of food, energy and fuel,” said Mary Rosenthal, executive director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “Products made from algae have incredible potential to meet these needs, and this website is designed to inform and excite people about algae.Allaboutalgae.com is a one-stop shop of comprehensive, easy-to-understand information about this exciting industry.”

The site is organized in a way that allows users to navigate between basic and more complex aspects of algae. It answers questions about what algae are and their unique characteristics as a feedstock for fuels, food, feed and more. It includes reviews of the history of algae research, state-of-the-art technology and the latest efforts of the industry to begin large-scale production. Users can review photos of operations, video interviews with industry and academic experts, an FAQ to quickly find information, a quiz that tests their algae knowledge, and more.

“This is a much-needed resource when you consider how quickly this industry is moving. Algae is slated to be a source of many products, including biodiesel, and we are excited that there is now a place for people to learn about its potential,” said Joe Jobe, Chief Executive Officer of the National Biodiesel Board.

Allaboutalgae.com was funded, in part, by the U.S. Department of Energy.

 

About ABO

The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a non-profit organization 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.

About NBB

The NBB is the national trade association representing the biodiesel industry as the coordinating body for research and development in the US.  It was founded in 1992 by state soybean commodity groups, who were funding biodiesel research and development programs.  Since that time, the NBB has developed into a comprehensive industry association, which coordinates and interacts with a broad range of cooperators including industry, government, and academia.  NBB’s membership is comprised of state, national, and international feedstock and feedstock processor organizations, biodiesel suppliers, fuel marketers and distributors, and technology providers. More information is available at: www.biodiesel.org.

 

Media Contact:

John Williams, Scoville Public Relations for ABO

206-625-0075 x1, jwilliams@scovillepr.com

ABO Algae Biomass Summit in Minneapolis, MN: A Chilly Locale for a Hot Industry Topic

Just like everyone else, I have always dreamed about visiting Minneapolis, Minnesota during the beginning of winter to learn all about algae. I and about 799 other lucky individuals had the opportunity to realize that dream at the ABO Algae Biomass Summit on October 24 through October 27.

Let me first say that Minneapolis is a great town. The Vikings were playing the Packers at home when we arrived on Sunday. Our hotel had a lovely gym, which was perfect because our colleague, Jim Duffy, was kind enough to introduce me to the most divine steak I’ve ever tasted at the Capital Grille. But it’s so cold. It is so cold.

Fortunately, the atmosphere in the Hyatt Regency was a lot warmer. Our CEO, Craig Stanley, and our manager of Business Development in Puerto Rico, George Economou, were among the participants at the first-ever Algae Biomass Summit Finance Symposium. Todd Taylor of Fredrikson & Byron, and Bill Lese of Braemar Energy were the co-chairs for the finance symposium in which the CBO team presented to investment-related professionals in the algae industry.

At other times, our group of three was busy at our booth in the exhibition and poster hall, and we attended the plenary sessions as well as the commercial, biology and engineering tracks. We also enjoyed hearing conference speaker, U.S. Senator Al Franken, trying to pronounce the word “algal”.

Some of the most notable presentations included Biomat’s plan to produce an algae system that can be contained within the metal shipping containers, and Jaap van Hal’s presentation, “Seaweed Biorefinery—The Other Algal Biomass” along with his Sea-Combine harvesting concept.

We were fortunate to see Brian Goodall for the second time in a week; he represents SRS, an algae oil extraction company. What really sets SRS apart from other companies is that they claim to know how to speak the language of both the algal farmers and the end-product users to make those relationships lucrative. I also had the chance to meet Emily Chad of Frederikson & Byron. While we both kept tabs on our booths, she schooled me on the goings on in Minneapolis.

The lunches were … interesting … but gratis with our conference fees so we ate with the rest of the 797 attendees. We met wonderful folks like Iain with Amec; they were giving out lovely bags at their booth and threw a smashing bash under the guise of networking at The Local. Plus, I always enjoying seeing Algea2Omega’s Geronimos and Jason, and I learned more than I ever thought I could know about Greek cooking and fireworks.

I was lucky enough to escape the conference’s culinary misadventures and have lunch on Wednesday with Algenol Biofuels and its funny and entertaining CEO, Paul Woods. We all listened intently as the president of Sapphire Energy, C.J. Warner, spoke for nearly an hour. C.J. brought great insights and related a very large amount of highly technical information to a huge group in a way that was clear and thought provoking. She was incredibly likeable and inspiring.

All in all, it was a great, well-organized conference. It had every element a conference needs to deliver: interesting people, great speakers, informative classes, mixers with good food and drink, and the opportunity to meet professionals with whom we hope to work. Next year the conference is in Denver, and my goal is to talk to attendees about CBO’s algae projects and how many more we plan to build!

Cori Cheairs, CBO Financial Director of Development

 

Department of Energy Funding Alert

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science recently published a Funding Opportunity Announcement.  It seeks pre-applications from parties interested in microbial systems design for biofuels as well as plant systems design for bioenergy.  The pre-application deadline is February 13, 2012.  $20 million total will be available for multiple awards in 2012.  DOE expects that the awardees will receive multiple year funding (up to 5 years) with expected annual funding levels between $1 million and $5 million per project.

Below is a brief summary of the FOA from DOE.  The full FOA can be found here.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) hereby announces interest in receiving applications for research that supports the Genomics Science Program and addresses DOE’s missions in energy and the environment in the following research areas:

a) Microbial systems design for biofuels, from computer modeling to experimental validation: To develop modeling algorithms and innovative biosystems design technologies to define, build, and apply functional biological modules for the generation of novel biological systems that advance toward the production of biofuels; and

b) Plant systems design for bioenergy: To develop novel technologies to re-design bioenergy crops that can grow in marginal environments while producing high yield of biomass that can be easily converted to biofuels. Applications should also address potential societal implications of engineered organisms.

 

Algae Biomass Organization Supports Extension of Tax Credits and Inclusion of Algae

WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 20, 2011 – The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) today thanked Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) for their efforts to help level the playing field for algae-derived fuels. In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY), the group asked Senators for consideration of an extension of cellulosic biofuels tax incentives, including language clarifying the eligibility of algae-based biofuels, in any possible extension of tax provisions slated to expire at the end of 2012.

Specifically, the letter asked the Senate leaders to clarify the eligibility of algae-based biofuels by including language similar to that in S. 748, the Algae-based Renewable Fuel Promotion Act.

“On behalf of our members across the value chain of the algae industry, we thank the Senators for their support,” said Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of ABO. “The availability of long term, sustainable and domestic sources of fuel is in the economic, security and environmental strategic interests of our nation. But we need supportive and predictable federal policy to help accelerate the development of biorefineries capable of producing billions of gallons of renewable fuels. Not only will this reduce our dependency on imported oil, it will create tens of thousands of jobs across the country.”

 

About ABO

The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a non-profit organization 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.

 

Media Contact:

John Williams, Scoville Public Relations for ABO

206-625-0075 x1, jwilliams@scovillepr.com

Algae Biomass Organization Engages K&L Gates to Help Advocate for U.S. Algae Industry

2012 effort will focus on driving policies that recognize algae’s huge potential for job creation, domestic fuel production and economic development across the country

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 19, 2011 – The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) has taken a major step in its evolution as the trade association for the U.S. algae industry by engaging the Washington, D.C. office of the global law firm, K&L Gates LLP.  The firm will help ABO in its efforts to educate federal policy makers about the growing potential for algae biofuels and the role they will play in U.S. energy production, national security and economic development, and to advocate for legislation that helps create parity for algae-derived fuels among the various regulatory and tax incentives available to other types of biofuels.

The investment by ABO comes as at a critical time for the industry, as fuels that can be derived from algae, such as gasoline, biodiesel and aviation fuel, are moving out of the laboratory and into the marketplace.

“The industry is breaking ground on new production facilities around the nation, paving the way to commercial availability. Still, however, algae-based fuels continue to be at a disadvantage when it comes to federal policy,” said Mary Rosenthal, executive director of the ABO. “At a time when Congress is focused on job creation, policymakers need to look no further than the algae industry, which is creating jobs across the ecosystem, from research and engineering, to construction and manufacturing, to administrative jobs in nearly every state in the U.S.”

The Algae Biomass Organization supports the bi-partisan Renewable Fuel Parity Act of 2011, which was introduced by Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Mike Crapo (R-ID). By amending the Clean Air Act and combining the existing categories of ‘‘cellulosic biofuel’’ and ‘‘advanced biofuel’’ into a single technology-neutral category of ‘‘advanced biofuel,’’ the bill gives algae-based companies the same tax treatment other biofuel companies have received for years.

“Making the RFS technology-neutral is just one change that can help put algae-based products on a level playing field,” said Rosenthal. “Our industry has made great strides in technology and commercialization over the last few years, and we expect markets for food, fuels and chemicals to see more algae-based entrants. Updating policies that were crafted before this technology had matured will have to be a priority if we want the U.S. to reap the benefits.”

Algae-based products and biofuels can be produced on land that is not used for agriculture, with water sources that are otherwise unusable, and at per-acre yields that vastly exceed other crops used for fuel production. As the demand for liquid fossil fuels grows faster than new supplies can be brought to market, the algae industry has been working to develop a range of fuels that can fill the gap, stimulate economic development in virtually any state, and provide a source of sustainable, domestically produced fuels that enhances U.S. energy security.

 

About ABO

The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a non-profit organization 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.

 

Media Contact:

John Williams, Scoville Public Relations for ABO

206-625-0075 x1, jwilliams@scovillepr.com