The AlgaePrize 2022-2023 Grand Champion team from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. From left to right, graduate student and team member Muriel Dittrich, Dr. Michael Stekoll Faculty mentor, and graduate student and team captain Tamsen Peeples. Team “Kelp I Need Some Algae” were selected as one of five Champion teams (prize = $10,000) and then were selected
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), in partnership with the Algae Foundation and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is announcing the launch of the 2023-2025 AlgaePrize Competition, which challenges students to become the next generation of bioeconomy professionals by expanding novel solutions supporting gigaton-scale algae commercialization.
AlgaePrize competition teams can include high schoolers, undergraduate or graduate students advancing algal commercial enhancement, ecological services, education, training, and workforce development.
Over the next two years, student competitors will:
- Gain experience with innovative algal commercialization technologies,
- Develop real-world solutions for the production of biofuels, foods, feeds, ecological services, and industrial compounds (e.g., biopolymers),
- Develop collaborative and leadership skills by working on multidisciplinary student teams,
- Engage and network with industry professionals, national lab researchers, and academics to forge relationships and connections that aid students’ transition to the algal-based bioeconomy via employment or entrepreneurial endeavors upon graduation,
- Compete to earn prize money, a trophy, and national recognition.
Competition Categories
Student teams should focus their projects on one of the following three competition categories, which are applicable to both microalgae and macroalgae:
Production
• Cultivar Enhancement
• Aquaculture Engineering
• Husbandry and Productivity
Downstream Processing
• Harvesting, Dewatering and Preprocessing
• Development of Biorefinery Applications
Novel Products, Analytical Tools, or Ecosystem Services
• New Product Development
• Remote Sensing and Modeling
• Ecosystem Services
Important Dates
- September 29, 2023: Student team registrations open and teams can begin work
- November 1, 2023: Registration closes 12:00 pm ET. Student team registrations due with abstract and team photo
- December 13, 2023: Research synopses due
- January 15, 2024: Finalist teams selected
- March 10, 2025: Finalist teams research project reports due
- April 11-13, 2025: AlgaePrize student competition weekend, team presentations and champions announced.
This is the second iteration of the AlgaePrize competition, which was launched in January 2022 with 307 individual competitors from 64 student teams. The 2023–2025 AlgaePrize is now part of DOE’s American-Made Challenges, a series of unique prize competitions designed to incentivize and reenergize American innovation in the energy marketplace. Email: AlgaePrize@ee.doe.gov
