Author: Carrie Cox

ABO Board Chair Mark Allen’s Statement on the Passing of Dr. Robert Gardner

Dr. Robert Gardner

Washington, DC. (October 29, 2019) – The Algae Biomass Organization’s President and Board Chair Mark P. Allen released this statement regarding the passing of Dr. Robert Gardner:

“The Algae Biomass Organization is saddened by the passing of Dr. Robert Gardner, a great contributor to the ABO’s efforts to bring students and young innovators into the industry and showcase their talents at ABO’s Annual Summit conference.  At the time of his passing Rob was an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota but his first engagement with ABO started while he was studying for his Ph.D. under Dr. Brent Payton at Montana State University. At MSU he was also mentored by Dr. Keith Cooksey, an Emeritus Member of the ABO Board of Directors. Rob attended every Summit from 2008 to 2018 and introduced the idea for the Young Innovators Lounge and posters sessions to the Summit. He chaired these events from 2013 to 2015 and also chaired the Summit Biology Track from 2016 to 2018. He also served on the Technical Standards Committee and helped bring IAM v 8.0 to publication.

“I personally began working with Rob in 2008 and throughout the years and at every Summit we would engage in deep discussion over cyanobacteria, an organism we both found immensely intriguing and could talk about for hours. Rob had a unique ability to think deeply into the origin and evolution of an organism, its function, how it interacted with its environment and its impact on the evolution of life on this planet. What we came to call the “Zen of algae”. Rob was a deep thinker and was very generous with what he came to know, he shared it as a gift. I am grateful for the opportunity to have known and worked with Rob, I am sure many others in the algae community feel the same, and we are all grateful for his unselfish contribution to science and ABO. Fortunately, he helped many others on the path of understanding and his spirit will live in a new generation of innovators, young and old alike.”

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.

The Design2Scale Challenge Seeks Innovations in 3rd Generation Biofuels

Algae technology developers take note! Fraunhofer TechBridge, a program of Fraunhofer USA, is now accepting applications for its newest TechBridge Challenge, the Designed2Scale Challenge presented in collaboration with ExxonMobil.

Fraunhofer TechBridgewill award up to $50,000 in prototyping, demonstration, and/or validation services from the world-renowned Fraunhofer R&D network to selected teams. 

Solutions of interest  include:

  • Technologies and strategies to aid in algal separation, cell disruption and pretreatment of microalgal cells, prior to lipid extraction
  • Technologies, strategies and processes to efficiently extract intracellular lipids from microalgae
  • New capabilities in microalgal downstream processing that minimize energy usage, chemical intensity and/or complexity

Proposals are due by November 15, 2019 at: www.designed2scalechallenge.com. Applicants and awardees’ intellectual property will be fully protected throughout the review process.

Students Recognized with 2019 Young Algae Researcher Awards

Four student scientists were recognized with the Algae Biomass Organization’s Young Algae Researcher Awards for their contributions to fields of algae biology and engineering at the 2019 Algae Biomass Summit, held in Orlando, Florida, September 16-19.

The awards are presented at the annual conference to recognize outstanding research projects by early-career scientists that are discovering the potential for algae to address a number of challenges in energy, human health, climate change, agriculture and more.

A panel of judges evaluated posters based on six key criteria: presentation, methodology, data analysis, poster integrity and the presentation of the poster by the presenter him or herself.

This year’s winners are:

1st place: 

Jackie Mettler, University of New Mexico
Poster title: Promoter Library Curation to Improve Genetic Engineering Efforts on an Industrially-Relevant Alga

 

2nd place: 

Karolína Ranglová, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic
Poster title: Biostimulant and Biopesticide Activity of Chlorella sp. Cultured in Pilot Scale 

3rd place: 

Haixin Peng, Auburn University
Poster title: Effects of Azospirillum brasilense on Microalgae UTEX 2714 and Bioproduct Production
 

Honorable Mention:

Farah Naaz, Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Poster title: Comparative performance evaluation of synthetic media grown algae and wastewater grown algae on the basis of biocrude yield
 
Congratulations to each of these scientists! Their innovations are building the foundation for the technologies, products and companies of tomorrow.
 

 

Dispatch from the 2019 Algae Biomass Summit

The 2019 Algae Biomass Summit concluded last week in Orlando, and the takeaway for most attendees was that a wide range of technical and commercial breakthroughs have given algae a firm toehold in dozens of new markets around the globe, with many more to come. 

Who Was There? 

Hundreds of scientists, entrepreneurs, CEOs, business development executives, federal agency leaders, and others interested in taking advantage of the algae opportunity attended the Summit. They traveled from 23 countries, and represented 318 companies, universities and government agencies. Many came looking for an introduction to algae and left as full-fledged Algae Biomass Organization members, ready to leverage a new network of expertise and connections. 

Some of the Big Ideas

Our summary of the Summit’s opening day featured contributions from Cornell University’s Dr. Charles Greene on how algae is unmatched when it comes to addressing global sustainability challenges, as well as a panel from leading food companies that are using algae to meet the growing demand for greener, healthier and better tasting products. 

On day two of the Summit plenary panels addressed other aspects of algae’s future impacts. A discussion of algae’s ability to capture carbon from power and industrial emissions focused on the ABO’s efforts to ensure that algae was included in a recently amended tax credit program, known as 45Q, for carbon capture projects. The tax credit has attracted attention across the energy industry. 

“45Q has really motivated the industry, a number of projects are underway as a result of this incentive,” said John Litynsky, Deputy Director for Advanced Fossil Technology Systems in the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy.

An afternoon panel titled “Hot Megatrends: Voices From the Field” featured leaders in media, advanced materials, food and algae cultivation discussing how far the industry has come, and how far it can still reach.

Scott Lindell, a research specialist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution noted that even with the remarkable potential of land-based microalgae production, there are also vast offshore resources for macroalgae farming. “The oceans are the largest untapped growth opportunity for algal biomass,” he said. 

The Hot Megatrends panel at the 2019 Summit

At an evening reception attendees were treated to an exclusive sampling of algae-based foods from ALGAMA, as well as samples of algae cooking oil from Thrive, Omega-3 supplements from iWi, and dozens of other exhibitors. 

First Hand Technology Experience

The Summit closed with two tours of regional algae technology demonstrations. At Valensa International attendees were treated to a lab tour that featured the company’s supercritical CO2 biomass extraction technology. And at a tour of the Orlando Utility Commission’s Stanton Energy Center, attendees saw a Department of Energy sponsored demonstration of algae cultivation using CO2 feedstocks from power production. 

Touring Valensa International’s facilities outside Orlando.

 

Algae cultivation with carbon capture at the Orlando Utilities Commission’s Stanton Energy Center.

Social Media Buzz

Throughout the event attendees were busy on social media posting about sessions, food samples, tours, nightlife and more. Scroll through some of the Summit action on Twitter via #algae2019.

Some notable tweets:

Press About the Summit

Biofuels Digest, one of the premier publications monitoring developments in the bioeconomy was at the Summit and published several stories: 

Heard on the Floor at the Algae Biomass Summit
September 18, 2019

The Algae Summit, groups to know, slides to see, and the Megatrends
September 19, 2019

The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to the bioeconomy MEGATRENDS
September 19, 2019

Save the Date. See You in San Diego!

The buzz at the 2019 Summit was stronger than ever before, and attendees from a wide range of companies, government agencies, research institutions and universities made connections that will help move initiatives forward across the globe. 

The 2020 Summit will be held September 8-10 on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. The city is a hub of algae commercial and research activity, and the intimate campus setting is expected to make the networking, partnership-building and technical exchanges at the 2020 Algae Biomass Summit better than ever. See you there!

Algae for Food & Feed Webinar Series

Register Now for Oct. 1 Webinar – Free

The Future of Algae for Food & Feed (FAFF) initiative was created as an engine for innovation and collaboration to accelerate the development of cost competitive algae-based food and feed products in the global marketplace

FAFF works to facilitate the development of products that will encourage consumers to make sustainable food choices through three strategic initiatives:

  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
  • REGULATORY SUPPORT 
  • EDUCATION AND MARKETING 

Join Us for Our 2019 Fall Webinar Series Presented in Partnership With:

Webinars include:

Food and Dietary Supplement Regulations: Application to Algal-based Ingredient Commercialization
Tuesday, October 1, 2019 / 12:00p PT

Algal-based Ingredients: Navigating a Complex Regulatory Environment for Animal Feed Uses
Thursday, November 7, 2019 / 12:00p PT

Register at www.futureofalgae.org