For the innovation award the jury had to select a special technological innovation or process, which makes a major contribution to advancing or improving the production of micro-algae.
The Dutch company Evodos won the price with its harvesting technique. The Evodos Dynamic Settlers, with the unique Spiral Plate Technology, outperform traditional separation/harvesting equipement. The separation efficiency is over 95 per cent, and the dry weight of the output Algae paste is 1.5 – 2 times better compared to traditional centrifuges. Even more important, the Algae paste is of excellent quality, all algae cells are harvested intact and undamaged.
For the Junior Research Award, the jury had the criteria of selecting a candidate that realised a scientific project with particular motivation and expertise and produced an outcome that is conducive to the micro-algae sector. The candidate must be under the age of 35.
In this category, Ronny Reimann was the best researcher selected out of eight candidates with all good research. In his Master Thesis he investigated several technology parameters of the new MUTL photobioreactor in a lab scale. These excellent results are the base for the further development of this type of photobioreactor. Today Mr. Reimann is part of the Project AUFWIND (founded by FNR), which investigates the production of kerosene from microalgae.
For the senior award / lifetime achievement there was one unanimous winner, Amos Richmond. He can be seen as the godfather for micro algae and has inspired many researchers, among which Qiang Hu working for the Chinese Academy of Sciences who gave a heart-warming speech. Amos Richmond, working many years at Ben-Gurion University, Israel co-shaped and decidedly influenced the development of the micro-algae sector through his work. He is author of the Handbook of Microalgal Culture including 50 years of worldwide experience in microalgal mass culture.
The 140 attendees coming from 30 different countries gave as feedback that the congress had been inspiring, of good quality and that there has been made many good contacts in the networking breaks. The congress addressed science as well as end-users perspectives.
The 8th edition will take place in the Netherlands/Belgium on 2 and 3 December 2014.
