Blog – Page 123

What Kind of Algae Jobs?

In Australia the announcement of a $30 million seawater pipeline to support algae cultivation for the production of biofuel, Omega-3 and protein products is a good example of what kind of infrastructure development will be necessary as more algae companies ramp up production.

The pipeline in Australia is going to support Aurora Algae’s facilities, one of the largest algae companies operating in Australia, but could easily support others in the industry as well.

This type of infrastructure may only be the tip of the iceberg, and demonstrates the kind of economic development, and jobs, that the algae industry will spur as the science of growing algae becomes a commercial reality.

Since algae can be grown in saltwater or waste water (no freshwater required!) there will be a need to build the pipelines and processing facilities to bring that water to algae farms.

Other infrastructure will be required to move carbon dioxide, perhaps from fossil fuel power plants, to be consumed by algae at newly built farms. All of this will require enormous contributions from the construction trades and from the technical staff needed to run the growth and harvesting operations.

The algae industry is not a venue for highly trained researchers alone. Like any energy industry it will require a range of talent from skilled labor to transportation and shipping, to business development and trading and finance. And since the feedstock inputs don’t have to be imported, almost all of these jobs will remain in the country in which algae farms are built.

Many of these positions are already here, but given the dramatic potential of algae to sustainably provide so many products and services, we are likely only seeing the beginning of a large future workforce.

Biorefinery for Food, Fuel and Materials 2013

The algae industry is just one part of an emerging trend in botechnology. As the biological sciences advance, and as commercialization of those advances is making new products and services a reality, there is an increased focus on what’s becoming known as the biobased economy.

As you might expect, leading institutions around the world are playing a role in how a new value chain that links biomass production with processing and other services is coming together.

One chance to learn about the various components is at the symposium on Biorefinery for Food, Fuel and Materials 2013 in in Wageningen, The Netherlands this coming April. We encourage those involved in the algae industry, especially those in Europe, to attend.

One focus of the discussion will be how food and non-food applications can further benefit from each other.

You can read more info and register to attend here.

Algae Investments Can Pay Off in More than One Market

When we see investors funding algae companies it often seems like they are looking for profits in the fuel markets, but it turns out they making a bet on a wide variety of products that can earn a return long before algae production achieves the quantities necessary for fuels.

One example of these other markets is proteins. Agricultural feed and nutritional products for people (look at this big investment just announced in Ireland) can be produced by algae an vastly higher inefficiencies than traditional methods.

FoodNavigator-USA.com, a news site for the food and beverage industries recently examined how algae is making an impact in their business:

Could algae be the next big thing in the protein market? Part one: Solazyme Roquette Nutritionals — Much has been written about the potential of proteins such as pea and canola as firms seek alternatives to dairy and other carbon-intensive – and increasingly pricey – animal proteins. But what about microalgae?
Could algae be the next big thing in the protein market? Part two: Aurora Algae — Protein has never been hotter – at least that’s what the market researchers tell us – and vegetarian proteins in particular are top of the pops right now.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Algae is also capable of producing plastics, pharmaceuticals, treating waste water and providing a profitable pathway to carbon abatement. There are enormous markets for all of these, and countless others. And so as most algae companies grow into fuel production it is a near certainty they will be looking at how the versatility of their technology can provide revenues from other products.

With the rapid pace of development in the algae industry, it’s likely those markets will start paying close attention very soon.

DOE Algal Biomass Funding Opportunity

Those of you conducting algae R&D may be interested in this funding opportunity released by the DOE on Tuesday. The deadline for concept papers is February 11, 2013.

The objective of the Advancements in Algal Biomass Yield (ABY) funding opportunity is to demonstrate, at a process development unit scale of one (1) acre cultivation equivalent, algal biofuel intermediate yield of 2,500 gallons of biofuel feedstock (or equivalent dry weight basis) per acre per year by 2018. The Biomass Technologies Office believes this target is an important milestone in reducing the cost of algal biofuels to cost-competitive levels on the way to achieving 5,000 gallons per acre by 2022.

You can find more information, and a link to apply, here. Best of luck to those that do apply!

Is Home Algae Biofuel An Option?

With the enormous fuel yields of 2,000 – 5,000 gallons per acre possible from a crop of algae it might be tempting to think about growing enough at home to provide for your own energy needs. And that’s exactly what researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Architecture and Ohio University are going to do.

With a grant from the National Science Foundation the research is going to first focus on how algae might be integrated with waste stream management as a solution for the energy needs of a single-family residence, and then scaled up for use by an entire community.

Algae may be the only crop with the potential yield to make this possible, and it’s ability to grow in wastewater treatment applications has already been demonstrated, as shown in the video below.

And distributed energy production like this could go a long way toward reducing our reliance on energy imports from abroad, or your neighbor for that matter.