Program Complete for 5th Annual Algae Biomass Summit – Largest Single Event Featuring Algae Industry’s Leading Entrepreneurs, Researchers and Companies

MINNEAPOLIS – September 14, 2011 – The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) today announced the agenda for its 5th Annual Algae Biomass Summit, the algae industry’s premier event. More than 800 attendees are expected to see and hear the more than 200 presentations and poster sessions that showcase technological breakthroughs in algae technologies as well as commercial applications in fuels, feed and other products. The event will be held October 24 – 27 in Minneapolis, Minn. at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis hotel.

The conference has been organized into four main breakout tracks – BiologyCommercial,Policy & Finance, and Engineering & Analysis – designed to give participants a 360-degree view of the industry, and what it will take to move scientific breakthroughs from the lab to commercial production. While the conference is still the pre-eminent venue for scientific discussion of algae, this year’s conference offers additional programming from the commercial sector, from companies that are developing algae programs themselves as well as companies looking to the industry for a new source of materials.

Highlights include presentations from ExxonMobil and Cargill on their perspectives on algae technology, from FedEx, Qantas and Boeing on the role algae can play in sustainable aviation fuels, and from the USDA and DOE on algae as a contributor to the food chain, to name just a few. The complete agenda can be found at: www.algaebiomasssummit.org.

“This year’s event reflects the progression we, and the industry, have made since our first summit in 2007,” said Mary Rosenthal, executive director of ABO. “While our early summits were highly technical and audience members came to be educated, this year’s event is the broadest yet in terms of presentations and audience members from a wide variety of ‘end-user’ industries. This year the focus is on commercialization, and our speaker list and more than 50 exhibitors reflect this focus.”

Speakers and attendees at the Algae Biomass Summit will include national and international technologists, producers, scientists, investors, and policymakers. In addition to commercializing algae production, leaders and attendees will discuss issues of critical importance to the emerging algae industry, including current government and private initiatives, evolving technologies for strain selection, growing and harvesting, refining/processing, life cycle analysis and venture/project finance.

Information on rates and registration for the Algae Biomass Summit is available via an online form. Reservations for hotel rooms at the Hyatt can be made here. There are a limited number of rooms in the block associated with the event, so early registrations and reservations are strongly encouraged. More information about the event, exhibiting or sponsorships is available via phone at 866-746-8385.