Month: March 2017

Around 120 delegates joined us for a very successful and highly engaging day at the Technology and Innovation Centre in Glasgow on 20th March. Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal of Strathclyde University, welcomed everyone to the fantastic university venue where industry, public sector, academia and research all connect. He spoke of the energy trilemma ( and “quadrilemma”) and the potential opportunities. He also expressed his keenness to examine, as chair of the Energy Technology Partnership, how he could support the ASLEE project.

The welcome was followed by a keynote address from Katherine White, head of the Strategy and Projects Unit within the Energy and Climate Change directorate at the Scottish Government,  outlining Scottish Government’s draft energy strategy and its underlying themes, goals and priorities.   

The diverse challenges facing rural economies were reflected in the range of presentations in session 1. Talks from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Centre for Remote and Rural studies at UHI, were delivered along with industry perspectives from Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN), Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) and Scottish Craft Distillers Association.

After a refreshment break, a number of the ASLEE project partners gave an excellent overview of the project achievements over the last 10 months. These included the technical and biological findings, the proposed economic model and the potential for the future. A long networking lunch then allowed delegates to interact and engage with the speakers and exhibitors in the exhibition area. Details of the exhibiting organisations can be found here.

In the afternoon, we heard about other local energy innovations and initiatives, including production and use of hydrogen; anaerobic digestion and bioenergy; energy storage technologies; distribution network management, and the Eden Campus facility at St Andrews University.

The day ended with talks and a panel discussion on policy and future opportunities. The panel, chaired by former MSP Mr Jim Mather included Paul Hudman from IBioIC, Scott Bryant of Zero Waste Scotland, Jennifer Ramsay from Local Energy Scotland and Douglas McKenzie, CEO of Xanthella.

Summing up at the end of the day, Mr Mather reflected on the success of bringing together different perspectives and stressed the importance of building on the collaborative conversations that had been started.

All presentations from the conference are available here – click on the speakers name within the conference programme.

ASLEE project would like to thank HIE for their support of the event, and all the speakers, exhibitors and delegates for their contributions, questions and discussions.

Don’t let the conversation end, follow us on twitter and facebook

The CyanoSol group at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, are delighted to announce funding of approximately £1.4 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in a Global Challenge for “In-reservoir destruction of Blue-Green algae and their toxins”. CyanoSol director Professor Linda Lawton will be principal investigator for the new project, working with Professor Peter Richardson at Queens University, Belfast and Professor John Irvine and Dr Paul Conner of St. Andrews University.  

CyanoSol aims to develop sustainable exploitation of the diverse biosynthetic capabilities of blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria) and are involved in internationally renowned research into the environmental impact and monitoring of toxins and other problematic metabolites, including taste and odour compounds produced by the algae.

The group directed by Professor Linda Lawton and deputy director Dr Christine Edwards has a dedicated algal production facility, with state of the art purification and analytical suite and more than 50 years experience working with bioactive natural products from plants and microbes. Current projects include a wide collaboration network (at national and international level) with organisations including: Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC); National Collection of Industrial Food and Marine Bacteria (NCIMB); Xanthella;  Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas); EPSRC; SuperGen Bioenergy Hub; Enzo; Cyanocost.  

Current CyanoSol projects include:

• Photo-Catalytic production of bioethanol
• Production of high value bioactive compounds
• Sustainable Exploitation of Algae
• Novel Bioactives from Streptomyces

Highlands and Islands Enterprise is pleased to support the Empowering Rural Industries Conference being held next week. bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders, this event will stimulate conversations particularly in the context of building sustainability and community resilience in the rural economy.

Join the conversation on the 20th March 2017 at the Technology and Innovation Centre in Glasgow @asleeproject16 @HIE @European Marine Science Park @LECF

For other information click on European Marine Science Park