Category: Blog

In a sign of growing awareness among policy makers of carbon utilization as a climate change mitigation platform, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) today paid a joint visit to ABO platinum member BioProcess Algae in Portsmouth, RI, to see first-hand how algae can be used to convert waste CO2 into valuable products at cost-competitive prices.

The visit was part of a two-state tour by the Senate colleagues to witness the impacts of climate change on coastal communities and the importance of coal in West Virginia.  In June, the Senators joined together for a colloquy on the Senate floor to discuss the effects of climate change and the importance of coal in America’s energy portfolio.

During the tour, Sen. Whitehouse discussed the strain that climate change, development and over-fishing have had on the state’s fisheries, and noted that algae not only help address climate change, but offer an alternative source of oils and protein that could ease demand on fish-derived sources of these nutritional components.  BioProcess Algae CEO, Tim Burns, noted that the company’s algae production facility in Shenandoah, Iowa, is already delivering algae-derived fish and animal feed produced from waste CO2.

For his part, Sen. Manchin stressed the need for federal policy to support the development of CO2 utilization technologies. “Carbon can be a product instead of a problem,” he noted, pointing out that large coal-fired power plants in his state and elsewhere sit on large areas of underutilized land that could support algae carbon utilization projects.

ABO has been leading a campaign to secure approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the use of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies to meet the emissions reductions targets set by the agency for new and existing power plants. This common sense approach reduces overall emissions, creates a revenue stream for utilities that offsets the cost of compliance, keeps rates low for taxpayers and stimulates economic development and job creation across the country.

ABO has started a petition via the White House “We the People” initiative and is calling for anyone who supports common sense, market-driven, job-creating and emissions-reducing technologies to sign the petition, located at: http://wh.gov/ilUxI.

We can do better than just bury CO2. Utilizing waste CO₂ will create jobs, reduce costs to ratepayers and unleash a new wave of innovation across the country. Yet the power generation industry will not be able to make the investments in these technologies without regulatory certainty from the EPA. We’ll continue to make the case. Please join us.

More on ABO’s efforts and the case for CO2 utilization can be found at www.algaebiomass.org/petition.

This November 3-7 ATP³ in Arizona is hosting a workshop for those interested in learning algae cultivation and processing techniques. These workshops are a must for any company or individual that wants to make the most out of their algae production, test new technologies or develop new products!

ATP³ offers superior formal and informal education and training in the use of microalgae as feedstock for biofuels and coproducts, through hands-on learning opportunities, workshops, and seminars held at ATP³ partner sites and selected public events.

You may find registration information and a complete description at http://atp3.org/education-and-training/.

Check out this video to learn more about ATP³.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report on the enormous opportunities in the biobased economy, and included some recommendations on how biobased product development can be accelerated to improve sustainability and economic growth.

The US bioeconomy has been valued at $1.25 trillion. In Europe that figure is $2.7 trillion, accounting for 20 million jobs.

The report, Why Biobased?, and brings together findings from government programs, academic research and non-profits to explore how sustainability policy and businesses are driving economic growth with biobased products. Algae are becoming a new agricultural source of feeds, foods, fuels and chemical products that can be produced without significant impacts on freshwater or land-use.

The USDA report concludes that biobased chemicals alone could soon make up 10 percent of the entire chemical market, and eventually over two-thirds of all our chemical products. That’s over 50,000 products and a $1 trillion global market.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization estimates that jobs in renewable chemicals will rise from 40,000 in 2011 to over 237,000 by 2025.

This impact may only grow as commercial algae production comes online, since algae deliver yields of oils and proteins many times more than almost any other crop.

To access the Why Biobased? report, visit http://www.biopreferred.gov/files/WhyBiobased.pdf.

 

The 2014 Algae Biomass Summit opened yesterday with more than 600 industry leaders who gathered to hear presentations by top officials from the Department of Energy, CEO’s of leading algae companies, and experts in national security, technology development and research.

Some of the days highlights:

“There’s an algae for that”

Matt Carr, executive director of the Algae Biomass Organization greeted Summit attendees with a presentation that reminded the industry of the great potential algae has to tackle problems such as climate change, food supplies, as well as energy and water shortages.

Algae’s potential is so great that almost regardless of the problem, “there’s an algae for that,” said Matt as he listed the innovations and solutions that will be discussed this week at the Summit.

Follow developments at the Summit on Twitter: #ABS14

Sign the carbon utilization petition

Matt also announced that ABO has initiated a “We the People” petition

petition encouraging the White House to encourage the EPA to allow states to meet CO2 reduction goals by recycling CO2 with carbon capture & utilization (CCU) technology.

Virtually every speaker at the opening sessions acknowledged that algae’s need for CO2 is an unprecedented opportunity for utilities and other carbon dioxide emitters to think of CO2 as an opportunity rather than a problem.

You can contribute to this effort! Support common sense, market-driven, job-creating and emissions-reducing technologies by signing the petition here.

Department of Energy Announces Up to $25 Million to Reduce Costs of Algal Biofuels

During his opening keynote address David Danielson, Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy announced up $25 million in funding that will be targeted toward reducing the cost of algal biofuels to less than $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent by 2019.

Check out the full DOE announcement.

Updates from Industry Leaders

Biofuels Digest editor and publisher Jim Lane commented that the industry is indeed evolving when he finds himself moderating two panels on commercialization progress instead of the single panels on the topic at previous Summits.

Mr. Lane guided updates, discussion and questions from a packed auditorium with executives from Algenol, BioProcess Algae, Heliae, Matrix Genetics, Sapphire Energy, ALGIX, LLC, Cellana, Earthrise Nutritionals, Synthetic Genomics and Muradel.

The one word theme? Products. Each company reported new moves to commercialize a wide range of algae-derived products in markets with trillion dollar potentials.

Saving Lives – Algae and National Security

Mike Breen, Executive Director of the Truman National Security Project provided attendees with an inspiring talk about the importance of developing renewable and domestic supplies of fuels to improve our national security.

Noting his own experience in the military protecting fuel convoys from attack, Mr. Breen told the hundreds of algae industry entrepreneurs and scientists gathered in San Diego that they have full support from his organization’s clean energy campaign Operation Free:

“Challenges of this magnitude can only be confronted with enormous innovative effort. Some might find the size of this challenge paralyzing when compared to the size of this room. But you have a duty to succeed. And I’m here to tell you that you’re not in it alone. The thousands of veterans and supporters of Operation Free are standing with you.”

Read more excerpts of Mr. Breen’s talk here.

SCHOTT and Algatechnologies Announce R&D Partnership

Natural-astaxanthin supplier Algatechnologies plans to boost algae production in a big way with new, thin-walled glass tubes developed in partnership with SCHOTT AG.

Nutritional Outlook has the story.

Media Coverage

Algae Industry Growing, Transforming in the U-T San Diego
An op-ed by ABO’s Executive Director Matt Carr and Cleantech San Diego’s President Jason Anderson

Algae as biofuels focus of summit in the U-T San Diego
by Bradley Fikes, biotechnology reporter

Algae, Will Bossie Like It? in Biofuels Digest
By Jim Lane