As Australia attracts many algae fuel researchers and investors, various projects are in force in the country. Thanks to the myriad of algae activities down under, Biofuels Digest recently gave it the nickname "Algstralia" and a timely conference covering “Mass Production of Algae for the Production of Biofuels and Bioproducts” is in the offing.
Algae World Australia will meet in Townsville, Queensland on 16-17 August 2011 highlighting Growing algae in Australia, Government policies and programs, Waste-water based algae production, Development of aviation Biofuel from Algae, Cost effective Algae Harvesting & Processing, scaling up algae production, and more. In addition, the conference features an exclusive technical site visit to the MBD Energy & James Cook University Algal R&D Facility, occupying 5,500 sq metres of JCU's Townsville campus. Drawing from their practical experiences, invited industry experts will also discuss:
- Algae for Carbon Capture
- Microalgal Lipid Content & Productivities
- Algae in Health, Feed andCosmetics
- Design and Optimisation of Photobioreactor & Open Pond Culture Systems
Kicking off the 1.5-day conference is Dr Susan Blackburn, head of Australian National Algae Culture Collection. She shares her expertise on algae’s ideal location for growth, and evaluates suitable algae species and strains for Australia for biofuels and bioproducts via her session on "Towards a Knowledge Management System for Algae Biofuels".
Another key highlight of the conference is the Roundtable Discussion on 'Australian Government’s Policies and Programs in Support of Algae Biofuels & Bioproducts'. Some of the major algae research and development projects in Australia include: Aurora Algae, James Cook University – MBD Energy Algae project, Murdoch University – University of Adelaide algae development project, CSIRO, South Australian Research and Development Institute and University of Melbourne. With Algae ventures thriving in Australia, various federal and state government departments are eager to back up the growth of the industry by providing R&D grants. Panelists include Mr Greg McDowall, director of NSW Office of Biofuels, and Mr Peter Mellor, executive regional director with Department of Employment, Economic Development & Innovation, Queensland Government.
Other top algae experts from leading research institutes and commercial companies, also invited are OriginOil Inc, Murdoch University, Boeing Research & Technology Australia, Evodos B V, and The Crucible Group Pty Ltd.
