UK sports drink Lucozade Sport is to trial plastic-free sports drinks and gels: turning to edible seaweed packaging Ooho. Created by materials engineering startup Skipping Rocks Lab, the Ooho packaging can naturally biodegrade in four to six weeks or can be eaten. More

Osaka City University has announced that it has succeeded in developing a new biofuel cell system with the functions of a solar cell and the ability of carbon dioxide conversion. Utilizing the photosynthesis function of spirulina, a biomass of dark-green unicellular microalgae, this solar-light driven biofuel cell generates electricity by consuming CO2 in water as source […]

Ten French companies have shown interest in developing and cultivating the algae industry in Saudi Arabia, with the aim of establishing an effective network capable of meeting the enormous future food and chemical needs. As a result, Riyadh and Paris have entered into a new phase of cooperation in the algae industry. The project will begin […]

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has announced its intention to place a new faculty member at its facility in Kodiak. The move is part of the growing seaweed industry in Alaska. Kodiak has recently ventured into the world of seaweed cuisine through Blue Evolution, which turns seaweed into pasta products and has hired harvesters in […]

Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and partner institutions in the US have found that a freshwater strain of microalgae Auxenochlorella protothecoides can degrade and utilise non-food plants like switchgrass. This increases the potential of this type of algae to be used for biofuel. This work paves the way for future designer engineering of plant carbon utilisation to […]

The European Commission (EC) has extended the use of micro algae oil after BASF, Nutraveris and Mara Renewables notified the Commission of their intention to market the oil as a novel food. The ruling allows the use of oil from the microalgae Schizochytrium sp. strain T18 in food supplements, food intended for infants and young […]

U.S. based largest organic seaweed farm, Springtide Seaweed is partnering with College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor to create and operate a saltwater research and production facility on the school’s campus.   The company will use the new saltwater lab to isolate and culture seed stock for a host of North Atlantic seaweed farms, experiment with local […]

Israeli biotechnology company Algatech, which grows and processes special species of microalgae, has developed a new product for the treatment of fatty liver disease. The new product is based on the pigment fucoxanthin, which is found in high concentration in algae, and studies showed it has great efficacy in treating fatty liver. The products will […]

The sustainable alternative to red meat may be tiny, green and slimy. As one of the most nutritious foods on the planet, microalgae could create opportunity for humans on several levels. Algae are organisms that are aquatic and photosynthetic but lack stems, root and leaves. The two broad categories of algae are macroalgae and microalgae. […]

Canadian-owned seaweed company Arramara intends to resubmit applications to harvest seaweed on the Irish west coast, following a Government ruling protecting “traditional” rights. The company, which was bought from the State by Canadian multinational Acadian Seaplants for an undisclosed sum in 2014, said it could take well over a year for the revised applications to be lodged. […]

Mechanical harvesting of sub-tidal seaweed was set to begin in Bantry Bay. Operations by BioAtlantis Aquamarine Ltd, using the Atlantis Explorer (Callsugn EIPQ2) are expected to continue for the duration of the licence until 2024. Harvesting will take place in Areas A, B, C, D and E of the licence area. Source  

The slow development of DHA Algae Oil market in China, only part of the well-known brands of baby food companies using microalgae DHA, other stronger baby food companies and health care products companies are actively developing microalgae DHA products. It is expected that with the general increase in living standards of our people and health-consciousness, […]

DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) hosted a Brunei-Korea talk to promote technology intensive venture business programme at its iCentre in Anggerek Desa. The afternoon session at the KHub began with a presentation on micro algae (spirulina) cultivating and manufacturing through solar energy by Dr Lee Jung-Seok from Sunbiotech. This was followed by two more presentations – Cosmetic […]

A graduate student in animal science at the University of California, Davis, Roque is experimenting with a cow named “ginger” and monitors everything from the animals’ food rations to the somatic cells in their milk — indicators of inflammation or stress.  The research is into reducing methane emissions from livestock by supplementing their diets with a […]

The Energy Department will invest a total of $78 million to fund early-stage bioenergy research and development projects. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement  that DOE seeks to improve the conversion of algae, energy crops and various waste streams into biofuels, biopower and bioproducts through the four new funding opportunities. DOE will award up to $28 million under the BioEnergy Engineering […]

Reducing carbon emissions in order to prevent climate change requires developing new technologies for sustainable and renewable biofuel production. Molecular hydrogen is regarded as one of the most promising energy carriers due to its high energy density and clean, carbon-free use. A research group from the University of Turku, Finland, has discovered an efficient way […]

Hydrogen might burn clean, producing only water as a by-product, but currently over 90% of the hydrogen produced in the US comes from fossil fuels. Although algae can produce hydrogen using photosynthesis, it was believed that this only occurred for a few minutes at dawn, resulting in limited amounts of the gas. However, tests by […]

Regulations and consumer needs have expanded the market for food products labelled green. However, affordable technological tools to produce vegetables sustainably are not readily available. To compound the challenge, European vegetable suppliers have neither the knowledge nor the willingness to change their cultivation methods. The EU-funded VegaAlga (Sustainable agricultural eco-system: business and technological solution for […]

OriginClear Inc. and AlgEternal Technologies, a vertically-integrated producer of non-fuel high value products from microalgae, recently announced a formal licensing partnership, capping five years of continuous operation of OriginClear’s first-generation Smart Algae Harvester™ at AlgEternal’s LaGrange, Texas headquarters. Following exhaustive testing, AlgEternal first selected OriginClear’s EWS technology in 2013. In 2015, AlgEternal found that by using OriginClear’s technology […]

Allmicroalgae Natural Products’ Chlorella vulgaris microalgae has received organic certification by the European Union as the Portuguese-based firm look to respond to growing demand for organic, fully traceable plant-based ingredients. In the US, chlorella sells into products like ice cream, tea, savoury spreads and baked goods, where its favourable nutrient profile of vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, […]

The woman-owned plant-based sustainable seafood company, New Wave Foods, will launch its vegan shrimp this July in restaurants throughout New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Philadelphia, and Long Island. The plant-based shrimp will be available in “raw” form or a crispy breaded variety. The company has partnered with Ace Natural, one of the most recognized organic and […]

The health benefits of Spirulina algae are widely known, but normally the superfood has to be purchased in powdered form. A new device has been created by Bentur in the form of the world’s first fully-automated system called Spirugrow.  The Spirugrow growing system has this week launched via Kickstarter and is now available to back with early […]

Researchers at NREL have taken a page from the petroleum refinery (and the meat packing industry) to propose a multi-product algal biorefinery concept as a means to let no component of the microalgal biomass go to waste.  Using their expertise at compositional analysis and thermochemical and biochemical conversion technologies, they have identified a number of new […]

Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources have launched a seaweed farming project to benefit villagers in Subic, Zambales. A memorandum of understanding was recently signed here by RP Energy, BFAR Region 3, Subic Bay Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Fisherfolk Association (SBIFARMFA), and the Farm Capital Corporation. Based on […]

China’s appetite for the “grass of the sea” dates as far back as the sixth century, and as a rich source of calcium, iodine, iron and vitamins A, C, B and E, seaweeds have cemented their place as an invaluable ingredient in kitchens and food factories. Estimates by market research firm Global Market Insights put […]