Department of Energy hosts algae workshop at ASU

U.S. Department of Energy representatives gathered at Arizona State University Nov. 19-20 to discuss affordable, scalable and sustainable algae-based fuels with stakeholders in the field.

The Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office Algae Program hosted the Algal Biofuels Strategy Workshop to highlight the progress made across the industry in the five years since DOE organized the National Algal Biofuel Technology Roadmap.

ASU staff and faculty from the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI), the AzCATI-led Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership (ATP3) and the College of Technology and Innovation attended the workshop, along with representatives from laboratories, industries and research institutions around the nation.

“We’re excited to meet at Arizona State University to offer this complimentary workshop, which aims to propel the algae-based biofuel industry forward,” said Christy Sterner, project officer for the Department of Energy Biomass program.

The department selected ASU as its site for this first of a series of workshops in order to allow the participants to get hands-on experience at the AzCATI facility, the largest open-air algae testbed of any public research institution in the world. 

AzCATI is also the leader of ATP3, a network of private industries, educational institutions and national laboratories, which is funded by a competitive financial assistance award from the Bioenergy Technologies Office within DOE.

“ATP3 welcomed this opportunity to display our capabilities and talents to the workshop attendees and the U.S. Department of Energy,” said Gary Dirks, director of ATP3.

The Department of Energy offers these complimentary workshops for university, national laboratory, industry, advocacy and government stakeholders to consider:

• the current barriers to algal biofuel commercialization, particularly in the near term

• the barriers that should be research priorities, possibly contributing to large strides in progress toward near-term goals

• the appropriate metrics for success

• the state of technology and progress made in achieving success metrics

Information about upcoming workshops is available on the Department of Energy website: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/bioenergy. To learn more about ATP3, visit atp3.org.