15 AlgaePrize Teams Advance as Finalists

April 25, 2022

Print This Article Share it With Friends

(U.S. Department of Energy) 15 teams are advancing as finalists in the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) 2022–2023 AlgaePrize competition.

Finalist teams were selected based on their 10-page research synopsis which described each team’s research plan for their proposed project within the AlgaePrize’s areas of interest. Each team’s research synopsis:

Described how the team’s proposed research compares to and will advance the current state of technology
Displayed a sound understanding of algae systems whether in production, downstream processing, or new product or analytical tool development, and the impact of their research
Included how diversity, equity, and inclusion will be included and addressed within their proposed effort.

The research summaries were reviewed and scored by a panel of judges and 15 teams in total were selected as finalists.

These finalist teams will receive $5,000 in funding to support their research projects. Over the next few months, teams will conduct their proposed research and will provide research updates at regular intervals, including presenting their research synopsis to AlgaePrize organizers and completing an Introduction to Algae Massive Open Online Course. Teams will then present their projects to a panel of judges during the AlgaePrize Competition Weekend, April 14–16, 2023, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. The judges will select five teams as the AlgaePrize winners, and each winning team will receive a $10,000 prize. From those five, one Grand Champion will be selected who will receive an additional $5,000 prize.

Congratulations to the 15 finalist teams advancing in the competition from the following educational institutions:

TEAM NAME	TEAM INSTITUTION	INSTITUTE LOCATIONS	ZIP CODES
Algaeorithm	Los Altos High School The Paideia School Institute for Systems Biology	Los Altos, CA Atlanta, GA Seattle, WA	94022 30307 98109
AzCATI	Arizona State University New York University	Tempe, AZ New York City, NY	85281 10012
FitoEnergy Team	University of Puerto Rico	Rio Piedras, PR	00931
Keep Calm and Chlamy On	University of California San Diego	La Jolla, CA	92093
Kelp! I Need Some Algae	University of Alaska Fairbanks	Fairbanks, AK	99775
PhycoSight	Georgia Institute of Technology	Atlanta, GA	30332
Polyculture Jam	Austin Community College University of Texas at Austin Del Valle High School Humboldt State University	Austin, TX Austin, TX El Paso, TX Arcata, CA	78752 78712 79907 95521
Pond Doctors	California State University Monterey California State University San Jose Cabrillo College Moss Landing Marine Laboratories	Seaside, CA San Jose, CA Aptos, CA Moss Landing, CA	93955 95192 95003 95039
PUPR AlgaePrize Team	Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico	San Juan, PR	00918
Purdue ChemE	Purdue University	West Lafayette, IN	47907
The Clean Water Cultivators	Santa Fe Community College	Santa Fe, NM	87508
The Cyantific Method	Colorado State University	Fort Collins, CO	80523
Toxic Ambrosia Salad	Santa Fe Community College Delgado Community College	Santa Fe, NM New Orleans, LA	87508 70119
UC Davis Giant Kelp Team	University of California Davis	Davis, CA	95616
Underground Ocean Farmers	Santa Fe Community College	Santa Fe, NM	87508

About the AlgaePrize

The 2022–2023 AlgaePrize, sponsored by BETO and supported by the Algae Foundation and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, challenges students to be the next generation of bioeconomy professionals in developing novel solutions supporting gigaton-scale algae commercialization. Products made from algae are a natural solution to the energy, food, economic, and climate challenges facing our world today. Algae have the power to put fuels in our vehicles, recycle carbon dioxide, provide nutritious food, and create jobs.

In addition to researching and developing new ideas and technologies within the commercial algae value chain, the AlgaePrize will foster workforce development and training, promote job creation in rural and urban areas, support diversity and inclusion throughout the student and judging teams, and showcase the resource potential of algal biomass in the United States to be capable of producing billions of gallons per year of economical, renewable diesel and jet fuels.

About BETO

BETO 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. READ MORE

What’s Happening with the AlgaePrize Finalist Teams? (U.S. Department of Energy)

Excerpt from U.S. Department of Energy: Here's a brief update on what the teams have accomplished so far:

Algaeorithm: is improving their software algorithm to better predict algae cell growth.
Advanced Cultivation Monitoring E (A.C.M.E): designed their initial 3D-printed disposable petri dish modules and have started developing them.
FitoEnergy Team: successfully extracted sodium alginate from sargassum and is working on the next stage of solid-state electrolyte development.
Keep Calm and Chlamy On: successfully created a long-chain, algae-based monomer to use in polyol formulations.
Kelp! I Need Some Algae: located algae beds that are easily accessible and have purchased and acquired materials for the structure they will be deploying.
PhycoSight: engineered a new data processing pipeline that extends object detection and segmentation protocol.
Polyculture Jam: managed to grow a variety of algae strains in their shaking platform in preparation for inoculating batch cultures.
Pond Doctors: identified a set of 87 potential abiotic stress biomarkers for their PondDoctor tool.
PUPR AlgaePrize Team: achieved a breakthrough in creating 120 grams of filament containing 30% algae powder without any additives.
Purdue ChemE: made steady progress in developing a techno-economic analysis and is close to completion.
The Clean Water Cultivators: collected samples for testing and are building their photobioreactor design.
The Cyantific Method: assembled a construct in algae cloning and has identified updated far-red light-harvesting genes to target.
Toxic Ambrosia Salad: introduced algal polycultures to the first level of their upscaling process and is monitoring the growth rate.
UC Davis Giant Kelp Team: is close to finalizing the quantification of their first round of extractions.
Underground Ocean Farmers: is working to cultivate seaweed using brackish water from underground aquifers in the desert state of New Mexico.

All fifteen teams are making great progress with their respective projects, and it is exciting to see their innovative ideas coming to life. We can't wait to see what they achieve in the coming months! Learn more on the AlgaePrize website. READ MORE