Category: Blog

The U.S Department of Energy has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled Innovative Pilot and Demonstration Scale Production of Advanced Biofuels.

This FOA seeks to identify, evaluate, and select innovative pilot- or demonstration-scale integrated biorefineries that can produce hydrocarbon fuels that meet military specifications. This includes specifications for JP-5 (jet fuel primarily for the Navy), JP-8 (jet fuel primarily for the Air Force), or F-76 (diesel).  Ethanol and Biodiesel are not eligible for this opportunity.

The DOE anticipates granting 2-4 awards that will range from $5 million to $7 million. Concept papers must be submitted to the EERE eXCHANGE website by July 16, 2012.

This FOA is part of an effort designed to spur markets for fuel production, and algae producers should consider responding. Novel and highly innovative technologies are strongly encouraged.

As advanced biofuel technologies mature and commercial facilities begin to expand there is some concern about finding enough talent to keep up with production.

Algae Industry Magazine makes note of a new program at Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) that seeks to address the workforce concern by offering five courses in biofuels energy including OSHA 10 General for biofuels, algae production, biodiesel production, biogas production, and ethanol production.

The SFCC course on algae includes training in the basics of algae biology, various growing technologies and harvesting techniques, and several of the markets (fuel, food, chemicals) that algae can impact.

In many cases participants will qualify for free tuition. Among those that will be considered for assistance are unemployed or dislocated workers, veterans or qualified spouses of veterans, workers in need of updated training, disabled persons and certain low-income citizens

More information is available at the SFCC website.

Algae’s ability to produce high-quality oils for nutritional and pharmaceutical applications proved to be an advantage for one company last week.

ABO member BioProcess Algae signed an agreement to provide commercial supplies of algae-derived, Omega-3 rich oils to KD-Pharma Bexbach GmbH, part of Bioseutica BV’s Fats & Lipids Division. KD-Pharma will use the feedstock to produce highly-concentrated vegetable sourced EPA oils.

More details about the agreement are in this NutraIngredients-USA article.

BioProcess Algae’s bioreactors grow algae with carbon dioxide that is captured from ethanol plants at their facility in Shanendoah, Iowa. The high-quality product is attractive to companies that require sustainable feedstocks for everything from Bioseutica BV’s applications, to animal feeds, green chemicals and biofuels.

Deals such as this will help the company expand operations and production, and achieve greater efficiencies and more attractive prices.

It is a growth process that other companies in the algae industry are likely to follow. As companies tap into markets that allow them to expand production, they will be able to leverage that greater production in markets that require far greater volumes—such as fuels and some chemical markets.

The Department of Energy yesterday issued a Request for Information on the “development of algae production and downstream processing technology to enhance the yield of algal biofuel intermediate products.”

Basically this means that DOE is looking for input on the best way future research, development and deployment projects can help produce commercial-scale yields of biomass, oils or other algae products that can ultimately be processed into biofuels. Large yields will be critical to producing competitively priced biofuels.

ABO encourages those with expertise in the algae industry to submit comments. DOE often relies on the private sector and the research community to understand the latest challenges, and the ways they might be overcome.

Responses are due by August 1, 2012. Read the full RFI for all the details, and for information on how to submit comments at the DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy site.

Last week the Senate passed a Farm Bill that included much-needed energy provisions that will leverage America’s agriculture industry in the effort to improve our energy independence.

Before it passed, one effort to dilute the Farm Bill was an amendment that would have eliminated support for biorefinery, renewable chemical and biobased product manufacturing assistance programs. This amendment was defeated by a 36-63 vote, and we’d like to thank all ABO members and algae enthusiasts that asked their Senators to support robust energy programs in the Farm Bill.

We encourage you to contact members of the Senate that voted for the Farm Bill and thank them for their support. You can find out how your Senator voted here.

Next, the Farm Bill goes to the House Committee on Agriculture, probably after the July 4 recess. It is likely that the energy provisions will be under even greater threat than they were in the Senate.