Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Biomass Program, Dr. Adeniyi Lawal of Stevens Institute of Technology will be leading a team investigating microalgae as a biomass fuel source.

A Cornell research team has received a $910,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to work toward revolutionizing how biofuels are produced from algae. David Erickson, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Largus Angenent, associate professor of biological and environmental engineering, have teamed up to design and build a completely new type of bioreactor that efficiently delivers light and collects fuel produced by algae inside the reactors.

Rotterdam, 5 December 2012 — Microalgae – the small versatile aquatic plants we all know so good – were responsible for gathering more than 110 participants from around the world in the beautiful Floating Pavilion in Rotterdam. The organiser, DLG BENELUX, chairmen René Wijffels of Wageningen UR and John Benemann of MicroBio Engineering, Inc. look back to a successful event.

Houston, Texas– Global Clean Energy, Inc. and Algae Farm (USA), Inc. have formed a strategic alliance to bring feedstocks to sustainable, scalable and profitable applications based on the work done by Algae Farm USA.

DOHA, Qatar – Qatar University (QU) has revealed groundbreaking research into the development of sustainable biofuels, as the Gulf state hosts the UN climate change conference COP18. The university’s project, in collaboration with Qatar Airways and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) is now into its third year. From a standing start, where the labs were nothing more than empty rooms, the research team has developed state-of-the-art facilities which are the best in the GCC and competitive internationally for this type of research.

On November 29th, French biotech startup Ennesys will launch its first demonstrator system for “truly green” buildings in the Nanterre district of La Defense near Paris. It’s a simple idea: to turn buildings into energy production units by using green algae.

Biologists at UC San Diego have demonstrated for the first time that marine algae can be just as capable as fresh water algae in producing biofuels. The scientists genetically engineered marine algae to produce five different kinds of industrially important enzymes and say the same process they used could be employed to enhance the yield of petroleum-like compounds from these salt water algae.

Heute mal ein wenig Off-Topic über meine Teilnahme an der Innovationsakademie Biotechnologie, aber schon im ersten Satz mit einem Aufruf an alle Algenforscher, Phyco-Entrepreneure und Photobioreaktor-Tüftler: Wenn nächstes Jahr die Innovationsakademie Biotechnologie wieder stattfindet – MITMACHEN! (Das ist keine Bitte…!). Ich war dabei und kann nur sagen – klasse! Da hatte ein interdisziplinärer Mob mit ordentlichem Gründungshunger ziemlich viel Spaß dabei, sich mit 200.000 Euro beschenken zu lassen. Aber fangen wir doch vorne an und klären erst mal, was die Innovationsakademie Biotechnologie eigentlich ist.

Nuthetal, Germany, 26.11.2012 – IGV Biotech presents a novel high-end screening photobioreactor for laboratory scale microalgae research. The xCubio-PBR is particularly designed for the requirements of scientific and quality research approaches. The compact design of the tubular module and the removable illumination device allow a steam sterilization of all media-touching parts in one in laboratory autoclaves.

Die Mainova beteiligt sich aktiv an der Grundlagenforschung zum Klimaschutz. Auf dem Dach des Maschinenhauses im Heizkraftwerk West in der Gutleutstraße wurde eine 32 Quadratmeter große Algenzuchtanlage errichtet, die am Mittwoch (21.11.) vom Vorsitzenden des Vorstands der Mainova AG Dr. Constantin H. Alsheimer, Mainova-Technikvorstand Dr.-Ing. Peter Birkner sowie Prof. Stefan Gäth von der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen vorgestellt wurde.