Algal Biomass Organization to Hold 3rd Annual Algae Biomass Summit In October

April 1 - The Algal Biomass Organization will hold its 3rd Annual Algae Biomass Summit on 7-9 October 2009 at the Marriot San Diego Hotel...
The Algae Biomass Summit is currently accepting papers and presentation abstracts via the website now through 5 July 2009...


Researchers Identify Protein That Concentrates CO2 in Algae

April 9 - Researchers from Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska have identified one of the key proteins in microalgae responsible for concentrating and moving carbon dioxide into cells...
This is a real breakthrough. No one had previously identified any of the proteins that are involved in transporting CO2 in microalgae... —Martin Spalding

April 21, 2009

A Project-Based Perspective: Algae Biofuels Economic Viability

http://www.greencarcongress.com/
by Jeff H. Hassannia, Diversified Energy Corp
...If your project falls on the line, you will be able to return 30% (average) per annum to equity providers and 12% (average) per annum to debt providers over the 20-year project life. If you are above the line, the project will fail to meet these required returns, while if you are below the line there will be excess profit for the owners of the project. For example, the bottom line (in orange) shows that if your total installed costs are $20k/acre, then your annual O&M costs must be roughly $4k/acre or lower. On the other hand, if your total installed costs drop to $10k/acre, your annual O&M costs can now be as high as $6k/acre and still be economically viable...

...Likewise, $200/ton is a metric often quoted and likely represents the low-end of revenue potential by simply assuming $0.10/lb—the middle ground for estimates of algal biomass usage as a high antioxidant animal or fish feed (generally quoted as somewhere in the range of $0.07 – $0.13/lb). The solid orange line thus illustrates the magnitude of the challenge at hand...