The Algae Biomass Summit is now in its second day, following a successful kick-off day on Monday. Yesterday, attendees heard two fantastic keynote speeches, listened to two opening plenaries and participated in two concurrent track panel sessions. Today promises to be another dynamic day, with updates from the Algae Foundation, another illustrious keynote speaker, a plenary session on carbon use and multiple track panel sessions.
One of the company’s participating in (and exhibiting at the Summit) is Global Algae Innovations (GAI), a company that was featured on the U.S. Department of Energy’s website just this week. At its core, GAI is focused on producing biofuel from algae by streamlining and innovating across the many processes involved in the production. GAI can boast of several breakthrough innovations that they have incorporated into their Alae Farm in Kauai, Hawaii:
- Instead of requiring a paddle to mix the algae in their raceway ponds, GAI uses a sloped design that employs the power of gravity for the same purpose.
- They have invented a flue gas delivery system that supplies CO2 from a local coal-fired power plant, accelerating algae growth with a local resource while simultaneously reducing emissions.
- Their Zobi Harvester harvests and dewaters algae with 30 times less energy than the typical, complicated process of dewatering algae before it can be converted into biofuel.
Through all of these innovations and more, GAI is working to bring down the cost of algal biofuel, making it more competitive in the fuel market.
For more details about GAI, visit their website. To learn more about the Summit and its fantastic line-up of exhibitors and participants, visit the Algae Biomass Summit website.