Author: Carrie Cox

It’s time to renew your membership in the Algae Biomass Organization! Not a member? Not a problem. Join us and become part of an organization that is pushing algae to become a solution for dozens of worldwide challenges.

Join or renew today.

Or read on to learn the full impact you will have as a member of ABO.

Throughout 2016 it was the members of ABO that made possible an aggressive agenda of outreach, education and advocacy that is transforming how customers, investors, policy makers, and others look at algae.

ABO is aggressively working to grow awareness and support for algae in a rapidly expanding universe of applications, including carbon utilization, human and animal nutrition, soil health, energy, and water treatment. Some of ABO’s 2016 efforts included:

Outreach and Education

• The first ever “Algae Day” at the World Aquaculture Society’s Triennial Meeting provided leading feed companies from around the world an update on the rapid growth of algae-derived feed ingredients
• ABO assembled the strongest ever presence of algae producer companies at the annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists, one of the largest food industry gatherings in the world
• ABO hosted a briefing for staff at the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory and Office of Fossil Energy on opportunities for biological carbon capture and use
• The world’s first “Algae Product Showcase” debuted at the Algae Biomass Summit, featuring products from more than two dozen companies – the most diverse collection of algae products ever assembled

 Advocacy

• $30 million in new algae funding from the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office for a broad set of algae technologies and products
• Strong findings from the first ever national assessment of algae biomass potential
• A new $30 million funding opportunity for macroalgae production
• Promising early discussions with congressional agriculture committee leaders on expanded support for algae in the next farm bill
• A five-fold increase in funding for carbon utilization research and introduction of legislation to extend carbon capture tax credits to algae and other CCU technologies

This success is to be celebrated, but we have much work to do. The results of the US election are likely to bring seismic shifts in Washington politics that could present both opportunities and significant challenges. The new Administration is likely to devote significant effort to rural revitalization, domestic manufacturing, and infrastructure. But we can also expect significant cuts to federal spending in key programs that have sustained the algae industry for the past decade.

Every current member of ABO, along with the ABO Board of Directors, would welcome your own membership, support, and participation in the organization. We are looking forward to a year of progress – both in Washington and around the globe – in 2017. Join us!

Join or renew today, click here to learn about the benefits that come with ABO membership.

Help us build the algae industry

Students – Are you interested in doing more for your industry while completing your degree? Help define the algae sector of today and shape the industry of tomorrow as an Algae Biomass Organization volunteer virtual intern. Internships of 8-12 weeks are available and are completely online. Interns serve a vital role by assisting ABO with industry and policy research, social media and communications. Interns leave their experience with a new understanding of the interconnections between research, industry, government and policy, along with exciting new insights and connections. 

Intern positions available for winter, spring and summer 2017.

Individuals interested in the ABO volunteer virtual internship program should send a brief cover letter and CV or resume to Barb Scheevel, bscheevel@algaebiomass.org.

AgFunderNews recently published a great feature on algae and its promise across multiple sectors. The article initially addresses algae’s many virtues as a ‘powerhouse’ of nutrition, but proceeds to explain how algae shows a lot of promise in the clean energy space and the feed industry as well.

In the article, ABO’s own executive director, Matt Carr, explains that algae upends the traditional food vs. fuel argument, since it can be grown on land not traditionally used for agriculture. In Matt’s words, there are many “big global sustainability and resources challenges that algae is positioned to convert to opportunities.”

Many ABO members are also featured in the article, including Sapphire Energy, for its refined algal oil commercial facility in Columbus, New Mexico, and TerraVia, for its AlgaVia line of food ingredients.

Matt also delves into the challenges that the algae industry has faced, most notably the lack of investment: many algae technologies are new and require high capital investment, after all. Yet, as Matt explains, the federal government has done a great job of supporting the industry and capitalizing on its promise. As he concludes: “I think this is going to take off really quickly.”

Ontario will be soon be hosting an algal biorefinery demonstration project. A collaboration between NRC’s Algal Carbon Conversion (ACC) program, Pond Technologies and St Marys Cement, the project will involve a 25,000 L photobioreactor within a pilot scale algal biorefinery. The system is designed to rapidly recycle carbon dioxide and other airborne industrial emissions into biomass and other bioproducts through photosynthesis.

Pond Technologies will be supplying the photobioreactor, equipment and personnel; NRC will be contributing its expertise in algae (including cultivation, bioprocessing and selected algae strains); and the project will be taking place at a St Marys Cement plant in Ontario.

These efforts reflect a bigger push in Canada towards clean energy research, development and adoption. In 2015, the Canadian government committed to doubling funding for clean energy R&D by 2020.

For more details about the project and the Canadian government’s efforts in the space, check out the announcement.

The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) has partnered with Egypt’s National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF) to promote research and commercialization of algae technologies worldwide. Besides their interest in algae, both organizations hail from similarly named cities: NIOF is based in Alexandria, Egypt, while ABO has its home in Alexandria, Virginia.

ABO’s executive director Matt Carr met with Dr. Mohamed Ashour Fikry, NIOF coordinator, at the 2016 Algae Biomass Summit to add his signature to the agreement alongside that of the president of NIOF, Dr. Mohamed Abd El-Fattah Hamed.

The agreement lays out a framework for both organizations to work together to promote and support international policy to develop and grow the algae biomass industry. Cooperation will include exchanges of information, event promotion and other activities that will benefit the global algae industry.

More info about NIOF is available at: http://www.niof.sci.eg/