Microalgae need only sunlight and water for the production of hydrogen. However, in order to make hydrogen production by microalgae economically feasible their efficiency has to be increased by 1-2 orders of magnitude. In the current issue of Energy and Environmental Science scientists from the AG Photobiotechnology of the Ruhr University Bochum and the Max Planck Institutes in Mülheim present how an improvement in efficiency can be achieved. Continue Reading →

Besonders im Sommer kommt es oft zur Ausbreitung von Blaualgen in heimischen Seen. Dadurch kann es auch zu einer Häufung an für Umwelt und Mensch schädlichen Giftstoffen kommen. Wissenschaftler des Forschungsinstituts für Limnologie der Uni Innsbruck am Mondsee haben nun jene Gene, die die Verbreitung der Giftbildung anregen, identifiziert. Continue Reading →

PUFAChain is an EU project launched recently aiming to develop a robust scientific and technological basis for substantiating strategic and technical decisions for the industrial development of high-value PUFA (DHA/EPA) from algae. A consortium with 6 companies and 3 research institutes will integrate state of the art science and technologies in order to assemble a complete process from feedstock production and harvesting to oil extraction and purification. Continue Reading →

South San Francisco, Calif. – July 30, 2014 – Solazyme, Inc.(NASDAQ: SZYM), a renewable oil and bioproducts company, and AkzoNobel, a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals, have expanded their previously announced joint development agreement. The expansion provides for funded product development, as well as key terms for a multi-year supply agreement targeting annual supply of up to 10,000 MT of renewable Tailored™ algal oils pending successful product development. Continue Reading →

Cary, North Carolina, July 30, 2014 – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced that it is collaborating with Renewable Algal Energy, LLC (RAE) on the commercialization of integrated algal production systems that will produce algae‐based products for the nutraceutical, animal nutrition, and renewable fuels markets. The OEM systems were developed and tested at RAE’s facility in Tuscon, Arizona; the first commercial application is scheduled to be operating in Q4, 2014. Continue Reading →

Research has helped point to signs of ancient life being littered across the moon: Kent physicists have tested what would happen if a piece of rock containing microscopic fossils from Earth was launched into space and hit the surface of the moon. In order to do this, Professor Mark Burchell and researchers from the University’s Centre for Astrophysics simulated the condition that fossilised diatoms – microscopic algae with detailed shells – might have faced if travelling from earth to the moon. Continue Reading →

The Novel Food Regulation (Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council) concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients applies to all foods and food ingredients that are to be placed on the market at this time. In particular, foods and food ingredients consisting of or derived from algae are explicitly mentioned. The effects of this regulation on the algae biomass novel foods are to be discussed at the Algae Biomass Novel Foods Workshop. The workshop will be held on 28-29 October 2014 in Cascais, Portugal. Continue Reading →

San Diego, July 2014 – Sapphire Energy, Inc. today announced the appointment of biotechnology veteran James Levine as president, CEO and member of the board of directors. Levine replaces Cynthia ‘CJ’ Warner, who is stepping down from her post effective immediately. She will remain chairman of the company’s board of directors. Continue Reading →

A unique water profiling instrument developed by The University of Western Australia’s Centre for Water Research (CWR) is enabling scientists to understand the impact of even the most subtle turbulence on algal populations. Continue Reading →