Episode 166 | Algae Alternatives | Bioenergy Technologies Office (DOE)
When it comes to biofuels, one of the biggest comments in our post-interview “Lighting Round” segments are the idea that they compete with fuels.
Algae has the potential to keep our crops on our plates. The Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) at the Department of Energy is developing several solutions to maximize the benefits of these plants (bacteria too, thank you, blue-green algae).
“I tell people, algae’s not bad,” says Christy Sterner, Technology Project Manager at BETO. “It’s good and there are good things that can come from it.”
Christy says algae has several advantages over biofuel crops like corn and soybeans:
- Higher yields per acre
- Can be grown on marginal land
- Can thrive in brackish, saline, or wastewater
She also points out that algae are a natural carbon sink and can produce multiple co-products. Cyanobacteria, the hybrid-algae you first learned about in Science Class, can naturally produce ethanol and other fuels. Bioengineering can also make bacteria produce more lipids for biofuels and plastics, or more protein for animal feed.
The idea of widespread harvesting of algae for fuel, for instance, is top of mind at BETO. The office is leading an effort called the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge to create sustainable fuels for aircraft (an electric alternative is not quite there yet). This multi-agency effort has partners with USDA, DOT, DOD, Commercial airlines, FAA, and CAAFI.
For this episode, we wanted to focus on BETO’s recent announcement of the winners of their AlgaePrize Competition. Unlike many DOE awards, this prize was limited to students, from high school to graduate students. Once selections were made, these students had a year to perform their research.
The winning team, “Kelp! I Need Some Algae,” was from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. They developed a natural, biodegradable alternative to synthetic vinylon string used to grow sugar kelp. They also identified an inexpensive, available, and effective alternative fertilizer for growing kelp.
Two finalists, Algaeorithm and PhycoSight, worked on real-time mechanisms to analyze algae while it is growing. Finalists PUPR and UC Davis Giant Kelp developed novel byproduct solutions for algae.
“You bring a whole, fresh new group into this and the come up with, I cannot tell you from these projects, how many amazing, cool ideas these folks came up with!”
Here’s to the next generation of bioenergy experts.
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