This page provides a variety of multimedia products for the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office's AlgaePrize 2022-2023 Competition. Explore the multimedia gallery to learn about the AlgaePrize finalists’ work and backgrounds and watch the AlgaePrize 2022–2023 highlights video. Additional links on this page lead to images and videos.
AlgaePrize Competition Weekend
Congratulations to the AlgaePrize 2022-2023 Competition grand champion and top finalists! During AlgaePrize Competition Weekend 14 finalist teams consisting of high school, college, and graduate students from across the United States—from Puerto Rico to Alaska, coastal California to the landlocked Midwest—presented innovative research projects that will support the nation’s biofuel research efforts and commercial algae value chain. Visit the AlgaePrize Competition Weekend galleries to view the poster session, industry roundtable, grand champion and top finalist awards, and more from the event!
Algaeorithm − Los Altos High School (CA), The Paideia School (GA), Institute for Systems Biology (WA)
The Algaeorithm team is developing an image analysis application that can rapidly quantify information about algae datasets. The team began working on this project over the past summer after climate disasters and gas prices prompted a desire for more sustainable forms of energy. Learn more and view the Algaeorithm team’s photo gallery.
FitoEnergy Team − Arizona State University (AZ), New York University (NY)
The FitoEnergy Team is working to extract polysaccharides from algae (specifically sargassum) to prepare solid-state electrolytes. Learn more and view the FitoEnergy team’s photo gallery.
Keep Calm and Chlamy On − University of California San Diego (CA)
The Keep Calm and Chlamy On team is developing a food-grade, commercially viable TPU coating for single-use food packaging/containers that are both fully bio-based and fully biodegradable. The team is working to develop a system at a scale to produce at least 50 food containers per day. Learn more and view the Keep Calm and Chlamy On team’s photo gallery.
Kelp! I Need Some Algae − University of Alaska Fairbanks (AK)
The Kelp! I Need Some Algae team is working on improving mariculture hatchery procedures to help the nascent American industry become internationally competitive, measures must be taken to increase yield, ease of operation and profits. By testing novel fertilizer and natural string options their research can have a direct impact on the Alaskan and national production of Saccharina latissima. Learn more and view the Kelp! I Need Some Algae team’s photo gallery.
PhycoSight − Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
The PhycoSight team is developing an imaging platform with onboard embedded image processing that uses custom computer vision and deep learning artificial intelligence. Their combined hardware-software project is being specifically developed for microalgal quantitation at the point of sampling, both for industrial-scale cultivation systems and for environmental monitoring. Learn more and view the PhycoSight team’s photo gallery.
Polyculture Jam − Austin Community College (TX), University of Texas at Austin (TX), Del Valle High School (TX), Humboldt State University (CA)
The Polyculture Jam team is working to generate synergistic combinations of microalgae that outcompete unialgal cultures by increasing the diversity of microalgae in the system. The rationale of their project is supported by observations that naturally occurring polycultures have been found to produce more biomass and are more resistant to grazing and stress conditions than synthetic combinations of algal species. Learn more and view the Polyculture Jam team’s photo gallery.
Pond Doctors − California State University Monterey (CA), California State University San Jose (CA), Cabrillo College (CA), Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (CA)
The Pond Doctors team is developing a tool to help algae growers better understand the needs of their crop to an increase in crop quality and quantity used for manufacturing algae-based biofuels. Learn more and view the Pond Doctors team’s photo gallery.
PUPR AlgaePrize Team − Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PR)
The PUPR AlgaePrize Team is exploring the use of this seaweed as a raw material for the fabrication of novel bio-based composite materials for 3D printing. Their project’s ultimate goal is to produce sargassum-based composite materials for 3D printing having a higher content of algae biomass, and exhibiting enhanced materials properties and printability as compared to commercially available materials used in 3D printing. Learn more and view the PUPR AlgaePrize team’s photo gallery.
PheFeed (formerly Purdue ChemE) − Purdue University (IN)
The PheFeed team is working to construct amino acid overproducing strains from algae in order to find a cost-effective solution for essential amino acid supplements in the aquaculture industry. Learn more and view the PheFeed team’s photo gallery.
The Clean Water Cultivators − Santa Fe Community College (NM)
The Clean Water Cultivators’ team is designing and building a photobioreactor to capture and process wastewater from a small hydroponic tomato farm in northern New Mexico. Currently the team has cultured and grown three viable algal polycultures and has successfully identified one as the predominant nutrient removal candidate. Learn more and view the Clean Water Cultivators team’s photo gallery.
The Cyantific Method − Colorado State University (CO)
The Cyantific Method team is designing a cyanobacterium alga (“Cyano”) to grow better with less water using two approaches. The team describes these approaches in their acronym SUGAR: Simultaneous Utilization of Glycans And far-Red Light. Learn more and view the Cyantific Method team’s photo gallery.
Toxic Ambrosia Salad − Santa Fe Community College (NM), Delgado Community College (LA)
The Toxic Ambrosia Salad team is studying algal bioremediation of contaminated water and a system of remediation. The team has successfully grown and upscaled poly cultures and have determined the species within the polycultures through DNA sequencing. Learn more and view the Toxic Ambrosia Salad team’s photo gallery.
UC Davis Giant Kelp Team − University of California Davis (CA)
Through the use of sustainable extraction techniques and advanced analytical techniques for the characterization of important components for nutrition and bioactivity, the UC Davis Giant Kelp Team’s research project focuses on understanding the impacts of processing conditions on the properties of the extracts produced to produce healthier and more functional algae extracts. Learn more and view the UC Davis Giant Kelp team’s photo gallery.
Underground Ocean Farmers − Santa Fe Community College (NM)
The Underground Ocean Farmers team is developing multi-trophic aquaculture systems to cultivate sea vegetables using brackish aquifer water. Learn more and view the Underground Ocean Farmers team’s photo gallery.