Category: News

WASHINGTON, DC (July 13, 2016) The Algae Biomass Organization, the trade association for the algae industry, hailed the introduction today of the Carbon Capture and Utilization Act of 2016 by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Jon Tester (D-MT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ). The legislation would provide tax credit support for algae and other carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies that can convert greenhouse gas emissions into valuable products such as advanced biofuels, animal feed, fertilizer and chemical ingredients. The proposed language would add CCU technologies to section 45Q of the tax code, which already provides credits for the adoption of carbon capture and sequestration technologies.

“Developing technologies that convert greenhouse gases into useful products can overcome the biggest obstacle to carbon capture: cost. We applaud these Senators for recognizing that by recycling carbon and converting it into valuable products we can offset the cost of carbon capture technologies, minimizing impacts on ratepayers and creating new economic opportunities in rural regions across the country,” said Matt Carr, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “We are particularly grateful for the language advocated by the Algae Biomass Organization that would allow smaller projects to qualify for the credit, which will help jumpstart several innovative algae technology demonstrations.”

CCU technologies, such as algae cultivation, can transform carbon dioxide emissions into valuable products, simultaneously reducing harmful greenhouse gases and providing economic benefits. A number of companies across the country are working to commercialize new technology advances that use algae and other microorganisms to convert concentrated sources of CO₂ into renewable fuels, chemicals, fertilizer, plastics and feed ingredients, as well as high-value products such as Omega-3 nutritional supplements, powerful antioxidants, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

About the Algae Biomass Organization
The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a 501 c(6) non-profit whose mission is to promote the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae. Its membership is comprised of people, companies, and organizations across the value chain. More information about ABO, including its leadership, membership, costs, benefits, and members and their affiliations, is available at the website: www.algaebiomass.org.

WASHINGTON, DC (July 12, 2016) The Algae Biomass Organization, the trade association for the algae industry, hailed the findings in the Department of Energy’s 2016 Billion-Ton Report that show the United States possess ample resources to produce large quantities of biomass from algae that can be processed into fuels, feed, food ingredients and other products.

Among the DOE’s findings on algae:

• Nearly 140,000 square miles of land suitable for open pond algae farms are available in the United States;
• CO₂ resources in the United States could be used to produce nearly 1.4 billion tons of algae annually;
• An analysis of the productivity of a single strain of saltwater algae found the potential to produce 86 million tons of algal biomass annually and capture 211 million tons of CO₂ from coal, ethanol and natural gas sources.

“The Department of Energy has shown that even with the most conservative estimates it is possible to harness the latest algae technologies to not only generate large quantities of useful biomass, but also make substantial reductions in CO₂ emissions from the power sector and other industries,” said Matt Carr, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “The proven potential for algae to make this huge economic impact and reduce the costs of controlling greenhouse gas emissions should encourage more demonstrations of this technology at larger and larger scales.”

The findings of the Department of Energy come as several leaders in Congress are advocating for more research and incentives for technologies that can transform greenhouse gases into valuable products. In addition to funding research at the Departments of Energy and Agriculture, proposals in the House and Senate have sought to provide tax incentives for carbon utilization technologies that are on par with other carbon capture approaches. Earlier, the Environmental Protection Agency included carbon capture and utilization in its Clean Power Plan after members of the algae research community and industry made clear the role the technology could play in national climate policy.

Carbon capture and utilization technologies, such as algae cultivation, can transform carbon dioxide emissions into valuable products, simultaneously reducing harmful greenhouse gases and providing economic benefits. A number of companies across the country are working to commercialize new technology advances that use algae to convert concentrated sources of CO₂ into renewable fuels, chemicals, fertilizer, plastics and feed ingredients, as well as high-value products such as Omega-3 nutritional supplements, powerful antioxidants, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. The latest innovations in carbon capture with algae will also be topics of discussion at the 2016 Algae Biomass Summit in Phoenix, Arizona, October 23-26.

About the Algae Biomass Organization
The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a 501 c(6) non-profit whose mission is to promote the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae. Its membership is comprised of people, companies, and organizations across the value chain. More information about ABO, including its leadership, membership, costs, benefits, and members and their affiliations, is available at the website: www.algaebiomass.org.

 

Event to showcase applications for algae in food, health, agriculture, energy, and other markets

PHOENIX (July 5, 2016) The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, today announced the preliminary agenda for the 10^th Annual Algae Biomass Summit, being held in Phoenix, Arizona, October 23-26, 2016. The plenary and breakout sessions unveiled on the agenda promise a wide range of discussions about the latest advances in algae commercialization, research and finance at the world’s largest algae conference. The agenda for the Summit can be viewed at: http://www.algaebiomasssummit.org/?page=Agenda.

Arizona is home to some of the nation’s most advanced test beds for new algae technologies, cultivation techniques and product development with multiple testing facilities, training programs and research centers. It has blossomed into a key algae technology hub for products ranging from pharmaceuticals to nutraceuticals to biofuels, making it an ideal location for showcasing the wide variety of products that the algae industry has to offer.

“We’re looking forward to bringing the Algae Biomass Summit back to Phoenix for a chance to showcase the incredible advances the algae industry has made since our last visit in 2010,” said Matt Carr, executive director of ABO. “We will be celebrating ten years of progress by hearing from top scientists discussing the very latest breakthroughs, and the innovative companies that are making algae-derived products more affordable and more effective in health, agriculture, carbon utilization, wastewater treatment and dozens of other markets.”

In addition to plenary sessions featuring leading keynotes and panels on the most pressing topics facing the industry, the conference will feature dozens of presentations in breakout sessions organized into four tracks: Biology, Engineering & Analysis, Commercialization and a new Industry Focus track on major trends the industry. More than 100 posters will be on display showcasing groundbreaking new technologies and research. More information about the Summit can be found at www.algaebiomasssummit.org.

The Summit comes at a time when the industry is seeing more algae companies successfully moving their laboratory breakthroughs into the marketplace. Many companies are making new algae-derived products available to consumers or opening large-scale demonstration and pre-commercial facilities, with expectations for expansion in the future.

Products made from algae are the natural solution to the energy, food, economic and climate challenges facing the world today. This tiny but powerful organism has the ability to simultaneously put fuels in vehicles, reuse CO2, provide nutrition for animals and people, and create jobs for millions of Americans. More information can be found at www.allaboutalgae.com.

About the Algae Biomass Organization


The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a 501 c(6) non-profit whose mission is to promote the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae. Its membership is comprised of people, companies and organizations across the value chain. More information about ABO, including its leadership, membership, costs, benefits and members and their affiliations, is available at the website: www.algaebiomass.org.

Largest algae conference in the world now accepting speaking abstracts and proposals for event taking place in Phoenix, AZ October 23 – October 26, 2016

PHOENIX, AZ (February 22, 2016) The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, announced that the tenth annual Algae Biomass Summit will take place October 23 – October 26 in Phoenix, AZ at the Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa. The ABO is now accepting abstracts and proposals for keynote speakers, panel presentations and poster sessions at the event, the world’s largest algae industry conference. Speaking opportunities for the Summit are highly competitive, making the submission of high-quality abstracts before the March 16, 2016, priority deadline essential. Information about the event and call for abstracts can be found at http://www.algaebiomasssummit.org.

“The 2016 Algae Biomass Summit marks a decade of the algae industry coming together to network, collaborate, push new ideas, and discuss the most important advancements made by businesses, academics, policymakers and students alike.  Algae technologies continue to impact new markets — food, health, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, animal feed — while making tremendous gains in carbon capture utilization and energy,” said Dr. Anthony Marchese, the 2016 Summit Program Chair and Director of the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory at Colorado State University. “With climate change as well as food and water security coming to the forefront of international policy, algae are now seen as a key component in meeting these challenges.”

Speakers and attendees at the Algae Biomass Summit will include national and international technologists, producers, scientists, investors, end-user companies, students and policy makers. Over the last decade participants have expounded on algae’s ability to make fuel, utilize CO₂ to make valuable products, provide nutrition to humans and animals, create chemical products, synthesize pharmaceuticals, and provide jobs for millions of Americans, with little to no impact on freshwater supplies or agricultural land (read more at www.allaboutalgae.com).

This year participants will continue to push those and other integral topics such as commercialization of algal production, government and private policies, lifecycle analysis, project funding and the emerging ways that algae can address global challenges.

Products made from algae are the natural solution to the energy, food, economic and climate challenges facing the world today. This tiny but powerful organism has the ability to simultaneously put fuels in vehicles, reuse CO2, provide nutrition for animals and people, and create jobs for millions of Americans. More information can be found at allaboutalgae.com.

About the Algae Biomass Organization

The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit whose mission is to promote the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae. Its membership is comprised of people, companies and organizations across the value chain. More information about ABO, including its leadership, membership, costs, benefits and members and their affiliations, is available at the website: www.algaebiomass.org.

Contacts: Nate Kommers, Scoville Public Relations for ABO 206-625-0075 x2, nate.kommers@scovillepr.com

Latest bill to encourage using carbon dioxide as a feedstock for valuable products

WASHINGTON, DC (July 28, 2015) The Algae Biomass Organization, the trade association for the algae industry, hailed language included in the energy reform package released last Wednesday by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that would prioritize research and development of carbon utilization technologies under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fossil Energy program. The Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 would add “Improving the conversion, use, and storage of carbon dioxide produced from fossil fuels” to the list of DOE Fossil Energy R&D objectives under Section 961(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16512(a)).

“We thank the Committee for acknowledging the growing importance of carbon utilization technologies in addressing our nation’s energy future and economic health,” said Matt Carr, executive director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “Innovators across the country are developing processes that can transform carbon dioxide into valuable products that range from plastics to fuels, and from feeds to fertilizers. This prioritization will hasten the day the algae industry can create thousands of jobs by using the waste gases from power plants to make valuable products we need, while giving those power plants a chance to reduce their emission for a profit rather than at a cost.”

The language in the bill comes as carbon utilization technologies have attracted increased attention among policy makers. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) introduced similar language in legislation proposed in May, which was followed in the House by votes for an Energy and Water Appropriations bill which included $2 million for carbon utilization R&D at the Fossil Energy office, and a vote in the Senate Energy and Water Full Committee for $10 million for carbon utilization.

In June Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced climate legislation that calls out carbon capture and utilization as an accepted method for power plants and other industries to achieve CO2 reductions. Later in the month language that encourages the EPA to implement policies which encourage the utilization of carbon dioxide was included in pending Interior Appropriations legislation.

The Algae Biomass Organization has called on the Environmental Protection Agency to explicitly recognize that carbon utilization technologies are acceptable methods for states to achieve emissions reductions under the agency’s Clean Power Plan.

Carbon utilization technologies, such as algae cultivation, can transform carbon dioxide emissions into valuable products, simultaneously reducing harmful greenhouse gases and providing economic benefits. A number of algae companies across the country are working to commercialize new technology advances that convert concentrated sources of CO₂ to renewable fuels, chemicals, fertilizer, plastics and feed ingredients, as well as high-value products such as Omega-3 nutritional supplements, powerful antioxidants, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

About the Algae Biomass Organization
The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a 501 c(6) non-profit whose mission is to promote the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae. Its membership is comprised of people, companies, and organizations across the value chain. More information about ABO, including its leadership, membership, costs, benefits, and members and their affiliations, is available at the website: www.algaebiomass.org.