Category: Blog

As we know, the earth is under increasing pressure to perform, with climate change and the demands of an ever-growing population putting a stranglehold on natural resources. And it’s nature itself that might hold some solutions to these issues, if we know where to look.

The latest experiment at Symbiosis Center Denmark is all about exploring the industrial potential of green algae, specifically, its ability to feed on CO2 and then convert it into protein.

The algae plant experiments are also about purifying waste water from the nearby Novozymes biotech industry, which produces enzymes that, for instance, are used in the textile or food industries. The algae use up CO2 in combination with the light and produce valuable biomass in the process, which can be used in the manufacture of high-value products. For instance, some algae have a high content of Omega 3 fatty acids, similar to the food that fish eat in the wild. It follows, therefore, that feeding fish with these algae give the fish a better taste when cooked.

Just as importantly is the business feasibility of this science. Calculations show that a production price of 400 Danish kroner per kilo (about $26.07 per pound) can make it a profitable business.

To read the full article, click here.

Last night at the ABLC NEXT 2015 conference in San Francisco Biofuels Digest released its ranking of the Hottest 40 Companies in the Biobased Economy and we are excited to report two algae companies have made the list!

Joule and Cellana are both Algae Biomass Organization members that have made great strides harnessing algae to be source of fuels, feeds and other products.

The Hot 40 is an annual ranking of small companies that are making waves deploying biobased technologies that will revolutionize a number of markets. Algae cultivation and processing technologies are among the most productive when it comes to sustainably producing the proteins, oils and fuels the world will need in the coming decades. We’re not surprised to see them listed among so many other exciting approaches.

Congratulations to Joule and Cellana!

 

The Department of Energy has awarded the Duke University-led Marine Algae Industrialization Consortium (MAGIC) $5.2 million to help develop algae products beyond oil for biofuels. The purpose of the effort is to build an algae supply chain that is more economically viable. Products in the MAGIC program include feeds for livestock, fish, and food for humans from algae proteins.

Congratulations to Duke and the MAGIC consortium!

Duke University’s student newspaper, The Chronicle, goes in depth with the team and their research. 

 

Six student scientists were presented with the fourth annual Young Algae Researcher Awards earlier this month for their contributions to fields of algae biology and engineering at the 2015 Algae Biomass Summit, the official conference of the Algae Biomass Organization (ABO).

The awards are presented at the world’s largest gathering of algae industry and academic leaders and recognize outstanding research projects by early-career scientists that are finding ways to use algae to create a range of renewable fuels, fertilizers, plastics and other products. The students presented their ideas via posters which were featured in the Summit’s exhibit hall.

More than 120 posters were accepted this year, representing a wide variety of technologies and research projects. A panel of  judges evaluated the posters based on six key criteria: presentation, methodology, data analysis, poster integrity and the presentation of the poster by the presenter him or herself.

The Young Algae Research Awards are presented to winners for research conducted in two subject areas: biology and engineering. For outstanding research in algae biology, awards went to:

1st Place: Matt Jackson, Montana State University

2nd Place: Sarah Loftus, Duke University

3rd Place Todd Pedersen, Montana State University

For outstanding research in algae engineering, the awards went to:

1st Place: Peter Schnurr, University of Toronto

2nd Place: Lili Gevorkian, California Polytechnic University

3rd Place: Kimberly Pugel, California Polytechnic University

Congratulations to each of these young scientists! Their innovations are building the foundation for the technologies, products and companies of tomorrow.

 

Our attention is greatly piqued by a recent article in Gizmodo about cyanobacteria, the microbes that helped terraform the lifeless Earth into a vibrant biosphere. Today, the very same critters could be the key to colonizing Mars.

In science fiction—and in the recent movie “The Martian,” starring Matt Damon—we find humans harvesting fields of wheat under terraformed Martian skies and growing rows of potatoes inside climate-controlled Habs. But in reality, growing any plants on Mars is going to be a challenge, because the Martian soil lacks some key ingredients.

This is actually ALSO an issue on Earth, but we have a solution: Microbes. Cyanobacteria are among a diverse group of nitrogen-fixers, bugs that deploy specialized enzymes to pull N2 out of the air and convert it into ammonia. On Earth, nitrogen fixers live symbiotically within plant roots, feeding their hosts nutrients in exchange for sugar. and colleagues argue that we could likewise harness cyanobacteria to extract all the fertilizer we’ll need from the Martian atmosphere.

To read the full article, click here.

To learn about one ABO member that is harnessing the nitrogen-fixing abilities of algae for use as fertilizer, check out Acclergy’s TerraSync product.