InnovATEBIO members are AlgaePrize Competition Finalists
The DOE BETO AlgaePrize 2023-2025 competition is run in partnership with the Algae Foundation and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The purpose of this national program is to support and encourage students to pursue ideas and invent technologies within the commercial algae value chain. This year's competition is part of the DOE's American-Made Challenges, a series of unique prize competitions constructed to encourage American innovation in the energy marketplace.
Fifteen teams have made it to the finalist stage in the AlgaePrize 2023-2025 competition, and 3 are InnovATEBIO members!
Team Blue Genes, from Solano Community College in Fairfield, CA is working to create an algae-derived dye with a wide range of potential applications.
Team JCCC Chlorella Cavaliers, from Johnson County Community College, in Overland Park, KS is working to develop a novel strain of Chlorella that will express plastic degrading enzymes to improve water quality in ecosystems.
Team Just AD Algae, from Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM is working to create a scalable system to co-digest microalgae with organic lipid waste, thus building a system that can remediate large volumes of environmental waste while also creating a high-energy, value-added product (biogas).
These finalist teams will receive $10,000 to support the research projects and over the next 14 months they will perform research, provide updates and ultimately attend the April 11-13, 2025 AlgaePrize Competition Weekend hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO. At this weekend the Grand Champion will be announced.
Congratulations and Good Luck!
About Algae: Fast-growing and able to store energy from sunlight, algae can be transformed into a variety of products, such as fuel, food, fertilizer, industrial compounds, and animal feed.
About BETO: The bioenergy Technologies Office supports research and development to lower the costs of producing algal biofuels—such as sustainable aviation fuels—and bioproducts. BETO is working to build the algae bioeconomy of the future, where fossil fuels could be replaced with an abundant, renewable, and flexible source of energy.