Grace Church School

Sustainable Algae Generation for Efficiency (S.A.G.E.)

finalist project

Felix Westergaard, Leo Fiszel, Bo Nalley, Julia Wurgler, Truly Hort, Cody Lee, Miranda Hackett, Chloe Rensky, Ahilya Ellis, Andrew Korn, Will Moran, Joseph Muscari, Anna Sandy

As AI usage grows, so does its environmental impact—but it doesn’t have to. Sustainable Algae Generation for Efficiency (S.A.G.E.) offers a solution by harnessing thermo-tolerant photosynthetic algae to capture carbon dioxide and waste heat from AI data centers. Using photobioreactor chambers, these centers recycle their emissions and heat to cultivate algae that absorb CO₂ and cool wastewater. The algae then grow into usable biofuel, transforming data centers from waste producers into energy recyclers. This closed-loop system aims to significantly reduce AI’s carbon footprint while creating sustainable bioenergy from what was once discarded.

Chrissy Dilley is the science department chair and a veteran high school science teacher at Grace Church School in Manhattan. While she has taught biology, chemistry and environmental science throughout her career her most recent exploration has been in the field of Biodesign. After being included in the 2019 and 2020 Biodesign Challenge she decided to take a deep dive into the ways design thinking could be used as an approach to curricular design and as a tool in the classroom.