Replacing legacy steam-sterilized bioreactors with a cheaper and simpler UV-enabled system can reduce the capital intensity of biomanufacturing, claims Biosphere.
New research suggests that ultrafine bubbles can optimize fermentation processes by improving metabolic efficiency in microbial cells, says Hydrosome Labs.
Nourish Ingredients, an Australian startup creating novel fats via fermentation, has struck a deal with Chinese biomanufacturing co CABIO Biotech in which CABIO will manufacture Nourish’s first product Tastilux at commercial scale.
Kinoko-Tech, an Israeli startup specializing in fungi-based fermentation, has struck a deal with Metaphor Foods, the innovation arm of Hela, to produce its minimally-processed fermented foods in APAC.
Berlin-based fermentation startup Formo has raised a $61 million Series B round and launched cheeses featuring koji protein at 2,000+ REWE, BILLA, and Metro stores across Germany and Austria.
“We’re talking about building smaller, smarter facilities with a lot less capital,” says cofounder and CEO Michele Stansfield.
“We have very low capex, which allows us to to sell at parity, or even in some instances, to undercut traditional seafood,” says CEO Brittany Chibe.
Nourish will work with Fonterra on Creamilux, a lipid produced by a genetically engineered microbe that “recreates the rich, creamy mouthfeel, taste and emulsification properties of dairy fat.”
The case mirrors a high-profile class action filed against Quorn Foods, which ultimately agreed to disclose that its fungi strain was a type of mold on product labels as part of a settlement.
Palacios’ Spanish omelets are sold in a ready-to-eat format in retail and foodservice locations in multiple countries.
The startup has LOIs and offtake agreements from joint development agreement partners for 33 tons of dry mycoprotein per month (99 tons when hydrated), claims CEO Paul Shapiro.
Ultrafine bubbles exhibit very different properties to bubbles perceptible to the human eye, from neutral buoyancy to a strong negative surface charge and a high surface area to volume ratio.
Smarter, not bigger, bioreactors operating a continuous process will unlock the economic viability of precision fermentation for a broader range of bioproducts, claims Pow.bio.
While this is not the optimal time to raise capital, the fact that Enifer’s PEKILO strain has been grown at industrial scale before has de-risked the enterprise for investors, says its CEO.
What will it take to make the economics of precision fermentation stack up for a wider range of bioproducts such that they can compete with low-margin, high volume products derived from petrochemicals or industrialized animal agriculture?
Right now, a handful of microbial workhorses do the bulk of the work in biomanufacturing. But do we need to domesticate a new generation of hosts for the next generation of bioproducts?
The race is on to develop ‘designer’ fats for the next generation of food products. But will fats & oils produced by microbes in fermentation tanks ever be a scalable proposition?
Like many players in the space, The Vegetarian Butcher has been exploring clean label binders that can serve as alternatives to egg white and methylcellulose in meat alternatives.
The partnership gives New Culture access to “some of the largest and most sophisticated fermentation facilities on the planet.”
“It’s difficult to find another company in the food space that has developed so fast in only two years,” says Nosh.bio cofounder Tim Fronzek.
