Author: Carrie Cox

This week ABO members at the University of Kentucky were among the winners of the Department of Energy’s $5.9 million investment in projects around the country that will explore how to capture, and make us of, CO2 from coal-fired power plants.

The announcement from the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy points out that the research will support a relatively new research portfolio within the office that will develop novel approaches for carbon utilization. These new approaches differ from using CO2 for enhanced oil recovery in that they will explore how the gas can be transformed into valuable products, and potentially offset the costs associated with carbon capture technologies.

According to the announcement:

The University of Kentucky Research Foundation (Lexington, KY) will develop a process to convert CO2 from coal-fired flue gas using microalgae-based CO2 capture, with subsequent conversion of the resulting algal biomass to bioplastics, chemicals, and fuels. The team will investigate a combined photobioreactor/pond cultivation process to decrease the cost of algae cultivation while developing a strategy to maximize value from the algal biomass. 

Read the full article at the DOE’s website. 

ABO member Heliae today announced that it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Syndel Laboratories: Heliae will be supplying the aquaculture market with Nymega, a new DHA precision formulation ingredient for feed formulators.

As the global demand for fish increases, the aquaculture industry is on the rise. But the industry is increasingly facing sustainability challenges as it searches for new, reliable and affordable sources of omega-3 fatty acids to increase the content of DHA in farmed salmon. Heliae’s Nymega algae is DHA-rich and provides a precision tool for targeting DHA levels in feed.

As Len Smith, CBO at Heliae, explains: “Nymega’s simple profile allows formulators to target specific DHA content, providing key benefits across fish species and at multiple growth stages—at a price that is finally affordable.”

More details about the agreement and the product can be found in the press release.

Industrial Biotechnology journal has announced a special algae R&D-themed issue to publish in October 2017, coinciding with the annual Algae Biomass Summit in Salt Lake City, Oct 29-Nov 1. 

The journal is now inviting submissions of original scientific papers in the form of Reviews, Original Research, Short Communications, or Methods for publication. Submit papers by April 1, 2017.

Download the call for papers to learn more.

Be sure to submit a speaking or poster abstract to the Summit as well!

 

ABO member TerraVia has recently made two exciting announcements that demonstrate how the latest algae technologies are making inroads in global markets for food ingredients.

Bon Appetit

Bon Appetit Management Company has officially adopted TerraVia’s Thrive Culinary Algae Oil as its preferred oil. Bon Appetit, part of Compass Group, operates more than 650 cafes across the United States and is known for its environmentally and socially responsible practices. TerraVia’s Thrive oil was thus the perfect match; its unique combination of nutrition, culinary and sustainability benefits align perfectly with Bon Appetit’s efforts.

More details about the partnership and the oil itself can be found on TerraVia’s site.

Univar

Yesterday TerraVia announced a distribution deal for the company’s AlgaVia^® brand of Whole Algae Ingredients with Univar. Univar is a distributor of food ingredients across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

“TerraVia’s innovative portfolio of products and company culture complement Univar’s approach and direction,” commented Simon Atkins, EMEA Industry Director, Univar Food Ingredients. “This portfolio will enable our customers to manufacture the next generation of food products to support the most important food trends that we see in the marketplace in 2017 and beyond.”

Read the press release here.

 

Earlier this week, Biofuels Digest did a great piece on ABO member Cellana’s newly announced partnership with Living Ink Technologies. The two companies have signed a letter of intent for the development and commercialization of algae-based inks.

Living Ink was founded to meet the growing demand for sustainable inks—inks that aren’t petroleum-based. Currently, the most popular alternative ink is soy-based, but such inks tend to dry more slowly, making speedy printing a challenge.

Algae has great promise to provide an effective alternative. As Jim Lane points out in his article, Cellana will not be using algae-derived oil, but rather renewable algae biomass as the basis for the ink production. Cellana’s ReNew Algae is, in short, algae biomass that is rich in nutritional oils, proteins, pigments, and other valuable micronutrients and is produced at the company’s Kona Demonstration Facility in Hawaii.

For more details on the partnership and for the original article, please visit Biofuels Digest.