R&D Advances Abound LanzaTech’s India Contract, NovoNutrients’ Food & Feed from CO2, Industrial Microbes’ New Methane Related Patent

September 17, 2020

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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) LanzaTech’s 2G Ethanol India contract, NovoNutrients’ food & feed from CO2, Industrial Microbes’ new methane related patent -- In just the last 24 hours or so there has been a flurry of R&D news. LanzaTech was awarded a contract to commence basic engineering for an integrated processing facility to convert agricultural residues to approximately 16,000 metric tonnes (5.3M gallons) per annum of fuel grade ethanol in India. NovoNutrients announced a relationship with Skretting, a leader in nutrition for fish and shrimp that is testing NovoNutrients novel protein ingredients made from industrial waste carbon dioxide and eyeing an off-take agreement. And Industrial Microbes was issued a foundational U.S. patent for the core component of its technology to turn methane into valuable chemicals using fermentation.

In today’s Digest, the details on all 3 R&D advances, reactions from LanzaTech, NovoNutrients and Industrial Microbes, and more.

LanzaTech’s India contract at 2G ethanol facility

In Illinois, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), a leading Indian Refining company based in Mangalore, is planning to install a second generation (2G) ethanol facility in the State of Karnataka, India and awarded LanzaTech the contract to commence the basic engineering for an integrated processing facility to convert locally available agricultural residues to approximately 16,000 metric tonnes (5.3M gallons) per annum of fuel grade ethanol.

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The Indian government is encouraging production of cellulosic ethanol from agricultural wastes and residues that would otherwise be burnt on the fields and create harmful pollution. Not only does conversion to ethanol create a new source of income for local farmers, it is also in line with the governments biofuels roadmap to increase production of 2G, non-food or feed based ethanol across the country to meet its 20% ethanol blending mandate by 2030.

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Industrial Microbes issuance of key patent

In California, Industrial Microbes, a leader in developing sustainable chemical processes using microbes, was issued a foundational patent in the U.S. (US 10,689,674) for the core component of its technology to turn methane into valuable chemicals using fermentation. This broad patent relates to the successful expression of an enzyme in E. coli that enables the cell to convert methane into methanol.

Methane is an ideal raw material for chemical production due to its low cost, abundance, and energy density. Renewable methane is available from landfills, wastewater treatment, farms, and food waste from the degradation of organic matter. Fermentation of methane into chemicals has attracted a significant amount of attention over the years, but the challenges of working with natural methane-consuming bacteria prevented the commercialization of any such technology. Engineering E. coli to consume methane circumvents many of those problems.

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The ability to oxidize methane into methanol is the critical first biological step for building more complex molecules.

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NovoNutrients : food and feed from CO₂

Also in California, NovoNutrients, a Silicon Valley based innovator making protein through carbon capture and utilization, has been selected to test at Skretting’s Aquaculture Research Centre facilities, bringing ever closer their shared objective of removing barriers to sustainably fed, affordable food by 2025. NovoNutrients is among a handful of sustainable innovations given a pioneering level of support within Skretting. The explicit goal is striking a procurement contract through which Skretting would commit to purchases of NovoNutrients’ feed ingredients.

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NovoNutrients transforms industrial emissions that are primarily carbon dioxide (CO2) into additives and high-performance protein ingredients, initially for fast-growing fish and shrimp feed markets. Brian Sefton, CTO and founder, explains. “Aquaculture often relies on feeding fish to fish, in the form of fish meal and fish oil ingredients. That supply is limited, volatile, and expensive. To keep aqua feed production from being undersupplied with the nutrients it needs and potentially limiting growth in the aquaculture sector, less costly additives and proteins are needed to make fish feed. Our gas fermentation process is anchored by low blended-cost, massive-scale feedstocks: waste CO2, as well as mixed gas containing hydrogen. The gases grow up our fast-doubling bacterial meal strains, which are natural, have 70%+ protein, and, optionally, integrated additives.”

Skretting’s attention was seized when NovoNutrients was chosen by a panel of 13 fully independent subject matter experts in the fields of nutrition, feed, environment, alternative protein, aquaculture innovation, finance, and assurance at a September 17, 2019 event held by Project X in London. READ MORE