In Washington, D.C., the inaugural 2022–2023 U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office AlgaePrize competition is now open. The AlgaePrize is a new competition which encourages high school through graduate level students to pursue innovative ideas for the development, design, and invention of technologies within the commercial algae value chain. The AlgaePrize, sponsored by the U.S. […]
In recent days, we’ve had 10 stories that shook the world. The players are so big, the technologies so ambitious, the scale so huge and the risks in some cases so high — we’ve grouped them together into one Big Story. These are ‘Quakers, as in earthquakes. 1. ExxonMobil expands interest in biofuels, acquires stake […]
By Sergey Nuzhdin, Kristen Davis, Meredith Brooks, Ann Carpenter, Pierre Wensel, Cindy Wilcox, all from the Cluster for Sustainable Seaweed Solutions (CS3) Special to The Digest A rising human population coupled with the damaging effects of climate change pose a paramount challenge to producing more resources in an increasingly variable climate. As the agricultural “Green […]
In Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, a team of researchers led by Loretta Roberson, associate scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, installed the first seaweed farm in Puerto Rico and U.S. tropical waters. The research array furthers the design and development of a system for offshore cultivation of tropical seaweeds to support large-scale production […]
In Washington, D.C., the Algae Biomass Organization reports that this month the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy is expected to announce a new funding opportunity for projects focusing on the development of algae-based technology that utilizes carbon dioxide from power systems or other industrial sources as a feedstock. The DOE’s announcement notes that […]
In Germany, an EU-funded research project BIOCARB-4-FOOD with the participation of the University of Hohenheim is looking for more sustainable processes for the extraction of carbohydrates from macroalgae and seaweed. In doing so, they investigate the question of how these substances can be obtained from the raw material, produce new types of extracts that can […]
Q: What was the reason for founding your organization – what was the open niche you saw that could be addressed with a new product or service? What was the problem, or gap, or opportunity? The U.S needs a billion tons of biomass per year, both predictable and affordable. While corn and other land crops […]
“They will sow wheat but reap thorns; they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.” — Jeremiah 12:13 If you want to see climate change, you can go north until you see it, or you can go south until you smell it. As in, welcome to the tropics, dude, we stink! Today we’re going to relate […]
In the UK, a new report from the Jersey government shows that sea lettuce and other species of macroalgae that plague the island’s waters and shores every summer are among those that are ideal for producing ethanol and biogas due to their high levels of sugars. Getting technology to scale in order to rid the […]
As we turn the corner from spring to summer, the pace of bioeconomy invention and change continues at a frenetic pace. Here are the top innovations for the week of June 7th In today’s Digest, miscanthus BBQ fuel, microalgae, new bioreactor for fermentation, cacao bean waste to beer, soy shoes — these and more, ready […]
