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 there is a well-publicized lack of biomanufacturing capacity in the US, says Mark Warner, “What matters is whether the capacity is fit for purpose.”
Dyeing fabric is terrible for the environment, says Chui-Lian Lee. But what if you could create textiles with inherent color, and skip the dyeing step altogether?
The race is on to find cheaper and more sustainable feedstocks to fuel the bioeconomy, says Hyfe cofounder and CEO Michelle Ruiz.
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?
“Meat alternatives don’t taste good enough, and it’s the key reason consumers don’t repeat purchase,” claims cultivated fat co Hoxton Farms.
A metabolite of caffeine, paraxanthine (Px) delivers what most people want from coffee, without the jitters, sleeplessness, and anxiety, claims Rarebird.
Caladan Bio has developed a lower-cost benchtop bioreactor system designed to enhance data capture and increase experimentation throughput.
The bioeconomy will only take off if we can find a way to make the precision fermentation process more efficient, says Berkeley-based startup Pow.bio.
Thanks to advances in synthetic biology, we can now engineer microbes to produce everything from enzymes to dairy proteins in fermentation tanks. But when does it make commercial sense?
Microbes have been the workhorses of recombinant protein production for years. But could the humble fruit fly give them a run for their money? asks Canadian startup Future Fields.
Five or six years ago the press coverage around cultivated meat was almost universally positive. Today, we’re seeing headlines about cancerous cells, ‘vaporware,’ and business failures. So where does the industry go from here?
Some commentators argue that cultivated meat is a food tech fantasy. So are they right? It all depends on your approach, says Joshua March, cofounder and CEO at San Leandro-based startup SciFi Foods.
Between 2005-2012, venture capitalists poured millions into startups attempting to make fuel from microalgae, getting their fingers badly burned in the process. But could algae be gearing up for a second bloom?
“We’ve got a groundswell of young people who are trained in molecular biology,” says SynBioBeta founder Dr John Cumbers: “They’re not scared of GMOs. But they are scared of the environmental impacts of climate change and the unsustainability of our consumer culture.”
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