Category: Blog

The Algae Biomass Summit, the world’s largest algae conference, kicked off today in Phoenix, AZ. Key players in the algae industry will be speaking on panels throughout the conference, exhibiting in the Summit’s renowned exhibit hall, displaying research as part of poster displays or simply sharing recent developments during countless networking opportunities.

One company featured at the Summit is UniVerve, an Israeli company that has developed a unique, scalable microalgae biomass production system, which requires less land, water and energy than other systems, has high yield per square meter and is easy to construct, operate and maintain. The company’s business model is to license its technology to companies that want to cultivate algae for various purposes.

UniVerve is currently in final negotiations with a dynamic algae company in Omega-3 market and expects to begin cooperation in early 2017.

UniVerve’s poster can be found in the ABO Exhibit and Poster Hall at the Summit (#308).

For more details about the Summit and our great list of exhibitors, please visit the Algae Biomass Summit website.

CO2 has a lot of potential. That may not be a sentence that one hears every day, but research and innovation have shown that CO2 can be transformed into innumerable valuable products. In addition to uses such as supplementing fertilizer or as a chemical feedstock for the synthesis of other chemicals, we in the algae space are particularly familiar with CO2’s ability to accelerate algae growth, speeding along the production of numerous algae-based goods. Yet current federal policy does little to encourage alternative solutions for CO2—making the very logical decision to recycle CO2 less appealing for decision makers in the space.

In a recent article in The Hill, Laurie Purpuro, Tim Peckinpaugh and Peter Nelson, eloquently lay out the current landscape and call for more federal support for carbon capture and utilization (CCU); or at least an even playing field. As they explain, the preferred option, as expressed through federal policy, is CCS, or carbon capture and sequestration. CCS involves capturing the carbon and injecting it into caverns in the ground and/or using it for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Yet the alternative—CCU—would capture carbon and apply it for beneficial purposes. As the authors explain, it would treat carbon as the valuable raw material that it is instead of a waste product.

Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) have introduced a bill to do just that—to even the playing field for CCU. S. 3179 proposes to extend a tax credit to CCU applications in addition to the CCS and EOR applications it already serves. As the article explains, S. 3179 would be an important step in the right direction for giving CCU the support it needs in order to thrive and prove its value.

For more information, and for the article itself, visit The Hill.

Earlier this month, the New York Times published a great feature on natural dyes. The article walks its readers through the history of artificial dyes and their fall from grace, diving into today’s quest for natural alternatives. After establishing their dominance in the early to mid 20^th century, many studies since the 1950s have linked artificial dyes to everything from hyperactivity in children to distress and discomfort in adults. While they have not been banned in the U.S., public opinion has moved against them, and there has been a strong movement in recent years towards natural dyes.

The article points out, however, just how difficult it is to make natural dyes with the same aesthetic as artificial ones (and, as the author emphasizes, aesthetics are of utmost importance when it comes to consumption). It uses Mars, a company that has committed to using only natural dyes within five years’ time, as an example—they have been feverishly attempting to recreate their artificial colors in natural form, yet with only minimal success.

One of the most promising solutions? Algae-based dyes. The piece profiles ABO Board Member Amha Belay, who runs an algae farm at Earthrise Nutritionals in Southern California’s Imperial Valley that extracts blue pigment from spirulina. An already successful operation, Belay explains in the article that “blue is just the beginning.” As the author cleverly points out, “in a handful of soggy spirulina, Belay can see the potential for a sort of Crayola wonderland.” And Mars is enthusiastically applying algae to its products with considerable success.

This is of course not news to the algae industry. Algae has demonstrated great promise in the dye industry for many years and its position has only strengthened as the movement towards natural dyes has intensified. Matrix Genetics, another great ABO member, was featured in a Huffington Post article for its work manipulating genes in algae to produce blue dyes a little over a year ago.

There is of course more research to be done and progress to be made, but, as the article points out, algae is off to a very promising start. It is certainly satisfying to see those efforts recognized!

Does your research, peer reviewed or otherwise, demonstrate the safety of one or more types of algae or algae bioimass as food or feed?

Animal feed applications represent an increasingly promising opportunity for algae biomass producers, but, at present, with very limited exceptions, whole microalgae and microalgal ingredients are generally not approved for use in animal feed in the U.S.

To support the expansion of algae-based animal feed use, ABO is seeking to compile the most comprehensive possible library of literature demonstrating the safety of algal feed ingredients, including:

• Safety studies or feed trials in fish or other animals
• Human safety studies
• Studies of environmental safety
• Reports showing historical use of algae for feed

Please send us your results! Contributions should be sent (as attachments if possible, or as links to publicly available studies, to this email address: news@algaebiomass.org) by close of business Tuesday, October 18. 

Thank you for contributing to this important effort!

As the Algae Biomass Summit 2016 draws closer, we wanted to take this opportunity to recognize and profusely thank all of our sponsors. The Summit, now the world’s largest algae conference and indispensable for representatives looking to connect with other experts on algae and to learn about new opportunities in the space, would not be possible without the support of our sponsors.

This year promises to be a landmark year for the Algae Biomass Summit, now in its tenth year, with a strong line-up of speakers and a wide range of pertinent topic areas. There will be four tracks for break-out sessions throughout the conference, focusing on biology, commercialization, engineering & analysis and emerging topics in the industry in addition to four general Plenary Panels. Throughout the conference, the exhibit hall will be open for browsing with a great group of exhibitors from across the globe.

This year, ABO is also collaborating with WEF to provide an Algae for Wastewater Treatment Forum in advance of the Summit on Sunday, October 23^rd. A unique experience is also available after the Summit concludes in the form of a tour of the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation.

Thank you once again to our sponsors for making this possible, including Commercial Algae Professionals, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technology Office, FedEx, Cellana, Matrix Genetics, ExxonMobil, MicroBio, Keller and Heckman LLP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Schott, Bergeson and Campbell PC and many more.

For more information about the Summit, including registration details, please visit our website.