Update 12/22/20: We’ve moved the deadline to qualify for 2021 membership discounts to January 15, 2021!
At the Algae Biomass Organization we are building a better future with one of the most promising new technology platforms. We see how algae cultivation, harvesting and product development can come together to improve global sustainability, feed billions of people, and offer new economic opportunity.
Our industry is seeing major advances and record funding in algae research, new commercial production facilities coming online, and innovative algae products making waves in a range of new markets, major media outlets like CNN, New York Times, CNBC, and Forbes are taking notice – highlighting the exciting products and research from the industry and touting algae as a potential global game changer.
Join us as we push forward to develop new technology, science, business development, regulations and public awareness about what algae can do. With our current membership drive, you can get discounted rates when you help grow out community:
Corporate Level Members:
Existing corporate level members will receive a 20% discount on their 2021 membership for signing up new corporate level members.*
Each new corporate member you recruit will also receive a 20% discount on their 2021 membership.
Individual Level Members:
Existing individual level members will receive a 20% discount on their 2021 membership for signing up new individual level members.*
Each new individual member you recruit will receive a 50% discount on their 2020 membership.
These offers expire November 15th, 2020 January 15, 2021.
Your participation in ABO puts you on track to play a role in building a new industry that is perfectly suited to meet the biggest challenges of our times. Be part of our community and invite others to do the same.
Ready to sign up a new member?
Read up on our member benefits and contact ABO’s Barb Scheevel today at 877.531.5512 ext. 1, or email her at bscheevel@algaebiomass.org
New members do not need to be coming in at the same level as the current member. The new member must complete payment by November 15, 2020. Following payment by the new member, the recruiting member will be invoiced for membership at the 20% discounted rate. Payment must be completed by December 31, 2020.
*Each new member will receive the new member discount. Recruiting members will only receive a single discount to their membership rate.
Who doesn’t love an excuse to make some spooky treats for the Halloween season? If you are looking for natural, brilliant color for your cookies, cupcakes and more, be sure experiment with some of these algae-based ingredients:
This year will be a very rare blue moon Halloween. So consider using the deep blue pigments from spirulina phcycyanin (available online, here’s an Amazon source) in a “scream cheese” frosting to make blue moon cupcakes.
And the iconic Hallween orange is easy to get without using artificial colors. Desserts, drinks and more can be easily deliver a bright orange pop with a little dunaliella salina powder.
And make the fright real with Halloween’s most terrifying color: Blood red with algae-based astaxanthin powder.
These algae colors may be fun, but they also presage a wave of algae-based products that are just beginning to make an enormous impact on our lives. Some of the cutting-edge applications include algae-based skis from WNDR Alpine; plastics and foams for shoes, backbacks and other items developed by BLOOM; and soil amendments developed by Heliae, Accelergy, AlgEternal and other ABO members.
Want the inside track on what’s next in the algae product pipeline? Be sure to become an ABO member to get updates, access to a network of global algae professionals, event discounts and more. Our current membership drive gives a 20% discount if you bring in a new member along with your own application! See details here.
The virtual Algae Biomass Summit concluded last week, and the most significant takeaway was that the new online format provided a more dynamic collaboration than ever before, and with larger group of participants spread across the globe. Speakers, poster presenters, exhibitors, sponsors, and hundreds of attendees gathered continue the momentum to make algae a new source of sustainable products and services all made the first virtual Summit a great success.
Global Attendance
Despite ongoing global economic and health disruptions, attendance at the virtual Summit was even larger than last year. Elected officials, sustainability advocates, CEOs, business development executives, scientific leaders, students and government agency staff from more than 30 countries all gathered over the course of several weeks to share the latest developments and plan for the future.
As the COVID-19 crisis was prompting ABO to shift this event to an entirely online format many participants wondered if the networking possibilities during a virtual event could match those of an in-person meeting. To maximize the potential, ABO adopted a set of new online event tools, and spread the Summit program over several weeks to allow attendees a chance to engage as much as possible. The online Summit gave attendees the ability to reach out and schedule meetings with any other attendee, view recorded content, and use a number of collaboration tools. Taken together, these adjustments made the virtual Summit into an unmatched networking opportunity for the hundreds in attendance.
My online experience with the Algae Biomass Summit this year has probably resulted in more networking than I would have in person! Take advantage of every opportunity and attend more conferences/meetings (many are cheaper now) if you can! #algae2020https://t.co/8xsEXNagH3
The virtual Summit’s program opened with a series of Industry Spotlight webinars that offered deep dives into particular segments of the algae industry that have demonstrated significant momentum over the past year. These sessions covered topics such as:
Algae Based Polymers
Managing Carbon Dioxide Utilization for Algae R&D
Macroalgae
Algae in Animal Feeds
Algae Crop Insurance
Those webinars were followed by a series of keynote and plenary discussions by some of the most innovative leaders in the sustainability and commercial sectors that are being impacted this industry. The first keynote session was kicked off by Alexandra Cousteau, a well-known advocate for ocean health. She detailed how algae farming can be a boon to the productivity of the ocean, and help feed billions around the world.
Alexandra Cousteau speaks at the 2020 virtual Algae Biomass Summit
Other notable keynotes and remarks came from Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), Congressmen Scott Peters (D-CA) and Darin LaHood (R-IL), EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, as well as leaders at the USDA and Department of Energy. These officials detailed the ongoing importance of federal support for algae technologies, as well as their excitement for algae to become a source of fuel, feed, food and advanced materials. Much of the support for advancing algae R&D has resulted in technological advances as well as new products, and the economic growth that comes with the growth of a new industry.
Detailing the progress of algae technology advances at the Algae Biomass Summit
At the conclusion of a week of keynotes and high-level plenary discussions, ABO’s incoming Executive Director Rebecca White presented the 2020 Algae Industry Awards to a number of leaders that have pushed this industry forward at every level. The awards went to companies developing new products and revolutionizing existing industries, and to projects that demonstrate the remarkable potential of algae to become a solution to environmental and economic challenges. Senator Tom Udall, for his exceptional contributions to the industry over a decade or more, was awarded the Champion of Algae award. See the full list of winners here.
Senator Tom Udall at the Summit
From the keynotes and plenaries, the Summit turned to several weeks of almost daily technical breakout sessions that revealed some of the newest advances, research findings and commercial demonstrations. Virtual tours of Gross-Wen Technologies and Synthetic Genomics gave an inside look at how algae companies are operating, and the virtual poster sessions gave many a chance to share research findings with the global community. In the closing days of the Summit, ABO’s Poster Committee awarded six student scientists with the 2020 Young Algae Researcher Awards.
Next Year at the Summit
The success of the virtual Summit left attendees asking about the 2021 event. The online tools used this year will certainly be leveraged in future years, but we also hope to combine them with live events as the world gets control of the COVID-19 crisis.
Currently, planning is underway to have the 2021 Summit hosted by the University of California, San Diego. Before the 2020 Summit was moved to the virtual format, UCSD had been planning to host the Summit, and we are looking forward to continuing our partnership with them bring this community together next year, online and in person.
Six student scientists were presented with this year’s Young Algae Researcher Awards for their contributions to fields of algae biology and engineering at the virtual 2020 Algae Biomass Summit.
Each year ABO presents these awards to recognize outstanding research projects by early-career scientists that are discovering the potential for algae to address a number of challenges in energy, human health, climate change, agriculture and more.
A panel of judges evaluated posters presented at the Summit based on six key criteria: presentation, methodology, data analysis, poster integrity and the presentation of the poster by the presenter.
The Young Algae Research Awards are presented to winners for posters submitted to all four of the Summit’s tracks: Biology; Engineering & Analysis; Products & Markets; and Finance, Policy & Education.
The 2020 awards went to:
First place:
Natasha Gunawan, University of California San Diego (United States)
Rapid Biodegradation of Renewable Polyurethane Foams
Second place:
Ezequiel Hansel, Federal University of Bahia (Brazil)
Clay Ceramic Bioreactor: A Novel System For The Production Of Microalgae Biomass
Third place:
Magdalini Tsarpali, University of South Florida (United States)
Lipid Extraction of Microalgae and Hydrothermal Carbonization of the Residual Algal Biomass for Sustainable Hydrochar Production
Fourth place:
Aurélien Parsy, Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour (France)
Toxicity of Metals and Organic Compounds from Produced Water on Marine Microalgae Cultures
Many of the posters presented at the Summit can be viewed by the public here.
Congratulations to these winners! ABO judges were impressed by all of this year’s poster submissions and look forward to more contributions from all of the participants.
Please join ABO’s Algae for Food and Feed Committee in a town hall style meeting to discuss an industry supported GRAS safety dossier for an algal strain(s). This is an important opportunity for anyone interested in the regulatory approvals process for algae-based products and ingredients.
