Category: Press

Analysis can reduce time, cost associated with site development

WASHINGTON DC (March 10, 2014) The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, today lauded a new publication from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in partnership with Sapphire Energy, “Siting Algae Cultivation Facilities for Biofuel Production in the United States: Trade-Offs between Growth Rate, Site Constructability, Water Availability, and Infrastructure,” in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. The publication highlights a new process for rigorously identifying and evaluating sites for commercial algae production facilities.

“Effectively siting algae cultivation facilities for commercial biofuel production is critical to the success of every commercial algae project,” said Margaret McCormick, chair of the Algae Biomass Organization and CEO of algae company Matrix Genetics. “The biology is so complex, existing ‘off-the-shelf’ measurement tools fall short. Because this analysis considers numerous variables along with real-world algae cultivation data, it offers project developers a much more complete and rigorous evaluation of sites.”

Site selection for large construction projects is a complex task, but a particularly challenging one in the case of algae cultivation in open ponds, where facilities could be thousands of acres in size. The factors that drive success include: a warm and sunny climate, available water, economically available land with soils good for construction, and proximity to transportation and utility infrastructure. In addition, special consideration must be given to local issues that are difficult for national-scale models to address, such as regulatory constraints, tax incentives, receptivity of local populations and ecological constraints.

“We are pleased that PNNL’s modeling framework has been useful to both Sapphire Energy Inc. for finding the best locations for new facilities as well as to the Department of Energy for addressing algae economic and sustainability issues,” noted Mark Wigmosta, PNNL project manager for this study.

The analysis found impressive productivity potentials for cultivating green algae along the Gulf of Mexico, especially on the Florida peninsula. While there are sites with potential nationwide, the research indicated that the southern coast of Texas, Louisiana and southern Arkansas are particularly attractive locations for a commercial site for algae production when including other criteria, like access to infrastructure. Perhaps most interesting, the ultimate choice of sites is highly dependent on the algae strain that is intended to be grown.

“Our analysis reduced the number of potential sites from nearly 100,000 down to a narrow set of the most promising sites for subsequent detailed, local analysis,” said paper co-author Erik Venteris, PNNL research engineer.

Wigmosta and Venteris are part of a team of PNNL researchers that created the Biomass Assessment Tool (BAT) used to perform the analysis.  The BAT tool was developed with funding from the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The collaboration with Sapphire, which funded the latest study, allowed PNNL to hone the tool and apply the technology to a real-world industrial setting.

Authors of the paper also include scientists Andre Coleman and Richard Skaggs of PNNL and Robert McBride of Sapphire Energy.

“By combining Sapphire Energy’s knowledge and experience gained from operating the world’s first commercial demonstration algae production facility with PNNL’s rigorous tools and analysis, we were able to identify potential sites for the commercial production of algae biofuels in the United States,” said Tim Zenk, vice president of corporate affairs at Sapphire Energy. “This public-private partnership serves as an example of how collaboration can advance not only scientific understanding, but commercial development of new technologies with critical benefits for our nation and the world.”

With new production facilities planned or operating around the U.S., the algae industry is rapidly emerging as an opportunity to address many of the energy, food, economic, and environmental challenges facing the world today. Algae have the power to simultaneously put fuels in vehicles, recycle CO₂, provide nutrition for animals and people and create jobs for millions of Americans.

Algae’s ability to produce high yields, grow in saltwater and on marginal lands means that they can be cultivated at large scales without harmful impacts on freshwater supplies or valuable agricultural land. 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.

About PNNL

Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory address many of America’s most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,300 staff and has an annual budget of about $950 million. It is managed by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy. For more information, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Sapphire Energy
San Diego-based Sapphire Energy is pioneering an entirely new industry – Green Crude production – with the potential to profoundly change America’s energy and petrochemical landscape for the better. Sapphire’s products and processes in this category differ significantly from other forms of biofuel because they are made solely from photosynthetic microorganisms (algae and cyanobacteria), using sunlight and CO2 as their feedstock; are not dependent on food crops or valuable farmland; do not use potable water; do not result in biodiesel or ethanol; enhance and replace petroleum-based products; are compatible with existing infrastructure; and are low carbon, renewable and scalable. Sapphire has an R&D facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and is currently operating the first Integrated Algal BioRefinery in Columbus, New Mexico, continuously since May 1, 2012.

Contacts:
Algae Biomass Organization
Nate Kommers, Scoville Public Relations
206-625-0075 x2, nate.kommers@scovillepr.com

Sapphire Energy
Alice Martinez
858-768-4725, alice.martinez@sapphireenergy.com

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Tom Rickey, News & Media Relations
(509) 375-3732, tom.rickey@pnnl.gov

Industry standards establish “operator’s manual” for comparing algae technology performance

Washington DC (February 6, 2013) The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, announced the publication of “Industrial Algae Measurements, Version 6.0” (IAM 6.0), a significant update to the common standards established by the organization for measuring and comparing algae industry operations. As more companies develop and improve new technologies to create fuels, feeds, nutritional supplements, biochemicals and other products from algae, this document will be a vital tool for researchers calculating and comparing disparate methods. It is available for download for free at https://algaebiomass.org/resource-center/technical-standards/introduction/.

Algae operations vary widely in size and in the technologies used, making performance comparisons across the industry difficult. The lack of a common language to describe the economic and environmental impact of an algae production facility, including all inputs and outputs, has been a challenge for anyone seeking to evaluate a specific process. The IAM 6.0 establishes a methodology and common descriptive language that can be applied across a variety of algae operations, regardless of size, technology or end products.

“The fast pace of development in the algae industry makes a standard-setting document like this absolutely necessary,” said Dr. Lieve Laurens, Chair of the ABO’s Technical Standards Committee and Senior Scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “The descriptive language established by the ABO will help compare and quantify how diverse algae technologies are performing, and how they measure up at commercial production scale. This can help give information to commercial and industrial groups and could be considered an operator’s manual for building the algae industry. The document provides references and resources for anyone looking into regulatory, characterization, and certification routes for biofuels and bioproducts.”

The IAM 6.0 recommends the methodologies that can characterize economic and environmental inputs of almost any algae biomass operation. These operations include heterotrophic, autotrophic, open pond, photobioreactor and open water algae production as well as harvest and conversion processes for microalgae, macro algae and cyanobacteria. The inputs considered by the standards include the carbon, water, energy and nutrients required by the algae as well as land requirements, process consumables and manpower requirements used during production. Outputs measured by the standards include the different classes of algal products as well as industrial waste emissions such as gas, liquid, and solid discharges.

The ABO published the first edition of this reference document in 2010 (originally titled “Algal Industry Minimum Descriptive Language”). It was the first time the notion of a common language in the algae industry had been articulated for measuring algae industry inputs and outputs. 

Since then, algae technology and commercial development have undergone dramatic changes that only enhance the need to apply standards that can compare efforts among researchers, producers and suppliers. In 2013, Sapphire Energy began producing renewable crude oil at the world’s first algae-to-energy farm in New Mexico. In Florida, Algenol’s algae-to-ethanol technology achieved annual production yields nearing 10,000 gallons per acre. And in Arizona, Heliae commissioned its first commercial facility producing algae-derived nutraceutical and personal care products. Fortune 500 companies have made large investments in the technology around the world and several governments are racing to adjust policies that can accelerate the industry’s growth.

“The critical standards found in this document are the result of the hard work, foresight and expertise of the ABO’s Technical Standards Committee,” said Margaret McCormick, Chair of ABO’s Board of Directors. “The ABO’s membership extends its gratitude to the countless hours of volunteer consultation that these leading experts gave to establish a set of common measurements for a new and promising industry.”

The ABO Technical Standards Committee authors of “Industrial Algae Measurements 6.0,” are:

• Dr. Lieve Laurens – Committee Chair, Senior Scientist, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Dr. Keith Cooksey – Committee Co-Chair, Environmental Biotechnology Consultants, Professor Emeritus, Montana State University; and ABO Board Member
• Jim Sears – Former ABO Committee Chair, coordinating author of IAM 6.0, New Product Development, Boulder Labs Inc., and CTO, A2BE Carbon Capture LLC.
• Dr. Rose Ann Cattolico, Professor of Algal Biology, University of Washington
• Dr. Mark Edwards, Professor, Arizona State University Morrison School of Agribusiness and Resource Management, Vice President at Algae Biosciences Inc.
• Steve Howell, President and founder of MARC-IV, Chairman of the ASTM task force on biodiesel standards
• Adonis Neblett, Attorney, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
• Dr. Robert McCormick, Principal Engineer, Fuels Performance, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Dr. Philip Pienkos, Applied Sciences Group Manager, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Gina Clapper, Technical Specialist, AOCS American Oil Chemists Society
• Pat Ahlm, Assistant Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Algenol Biofuels Inc.

More than 30 industry experts and organizations reviewed and commented on the document, including individuals from industry associations, national labs, companies and research institutions.

With new production facilities planned or operating around the U.S., the algae industry is rapidly emerging as an opportunity to address many of the energy, food, economic, and environmental challenges facing the world today. Algae have the power to simultaneously put fuels in vehicles, recycle CO₂, provide nutrition for animals and people and create jobs for millions of Americans. Algae’s ability to produce high yields, grow in saltwater and on marginal lands means that they can be cultivated at large scales without harmful impacts on freshwater supplies or valuable agricultural land. 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.

Washington DC (December 13, 2013) The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, applauded Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA) for legislation he introduced yesterday to extend the existing tax credit for producers of advanced biofuels, such as those derived from algae. The bill, HR 3758, would also extend an existing depreciation allowance for advanced biofuel plant property.

In proposing the legislation Congressman Peters, who chairs the Congressional Algae Caucus, seeks to maintain a policy that has encouraged entrepreneurs and investors to develop the next generation of sustainable fuels. Continuation of this tax policy would also support ongoing commercialization efforts that are already providing new jobs and economic development while improving the nation’s energy security.

“ABO thanks Congressman Peters for his leadership and his vision for American energy security and economic development,” said Mary Rosenthal, executive director of ABO. “America needs new sources of energy, and the advanced biofuels tax credit has provided confidence to companies and investors that are bringing sustainable biofuels into the marketplace. Extending this valuable policy will accelerate the commercialization of competitive, domestically produced fuel from algae and other feedstocks.”

With new production facilities planned or operating around the U.S., the algae industry is rapidly emerging as an opportunity to address many of the energy, food, economic, and environmental challenges facing the world today. Algae have the power to simultaneously put fuels in vehicles, recycle CO₂, provide nutrition for animals and people and create jobs for millions of Americans. Algae’s ability to produce high yields and grow in saltwater and on marginal lands means that they can be cultivated on large scales without harmful impacts on freshwater supplies or valuable agricultural land. 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.

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

Washington, DC (December 12, 2013) – The Algae Biomass Organization, the trade association for the US algae industry, today issued the following statement applauding President Obama, US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus for taking a bold, fiscally responsible step toward increasing the supply of domestically produced biofuels:

“The Farm to Fleet program will help accelerate the production of biofuels made from a range of domestic crops, including algae, and will stimulate increased investment from the private sector.

“Algae fuel producers — high-tech algae farmers — stand ready to work with USDA and the Navy to supply our nation’s vessels, aircraft and support vehicles with competitively priced, domestically produced, drop-in fuels made from algae.

“The market certainty provided by the U.S. Navy is a welcome and much needed demonstration of support for our industry, and one that will increase investor confidence in the prospects for long-term demand for biofuels derived from algae.

“We will proudly work with the USDA and the Navy to show what’s possible when American ingenuity and entrepreneurialism are focused on producing fuels that drive economic growth and enhance national security. We look forward to the day when algae-derived fuels are used throughout the global Naval fleet.”

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

 

Washington, DC (November 15, 2013) – The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, expressed disappointment with the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed change to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that would, for the first time, reduce the levels of domestically produced, advanced biofuels that are required to be blended into America’s fuel supply.

The EPA’s proposed requirement for the year 2014 calls for significantly less renewable fuel than the RFS originally intended and also less than what the advanced biofuels industry has indicated it will produce. The proposal would require approximately 13 billion gallons of conventional ethanol and 2.2 billions gallons of advanced biofuels to be blended with petroleum-based gasoline next year. Those figures are significantly less than the 2013 requirements for 13.8 billion gallons of conventional ethanol and 2.75 billion gallons of advanced biofuels.

“The way to move the country forward is not to roll back requirements and goals for renewable fuels. There’s no doubt that America’s biofuels industry has been moving the country forward – creating jobs in rural communities, providing choice at the pump and reducing our dangerous dependence on imported oil,” said Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “The EPA’s decision to require fewer gallons of renewable fuels than last year is a clear step back and sends a chilling signal to investors who are looking to finance the future of the American biofuel industry, putting our economic and environmental security at risk.”

The ABO and its members plan to provide comments on the rule to the EPA during the two-month period that precedes a final decision on the 2014 blend requirements.

With new production facilities planned or operating around the U.S., the algae industry is rapidly emerging as an opportunity to address many of the energy, food, economic, and environmental challenges facing the world today. Algae have the power to simultaneously put fuels in vehicles, recycle CO₂, provide nutrition for animals and people and create jobs for millions of Americans. Algae’s ability to produce high yields and grow in saltwater and on marginal lands mean that they can be cultivated on large scales without harmful impacts on freshwater supplies or valuable agricultural land. 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.