Cauldron Ferm’s new precision fermentation facility in Queensland set to reduce production cost, raise capacity

23-Oct-2024 - Last updated on 23-Oct-2024 at 05:45 GMT

Cauldron Ferm's new precision fermentation facility in Mackay is said to have a manufacturing capacity to supply a range of sectors. ©Cauldron Ferm

Australia-based Cauldron Ferm has received funding from the Queensland Government to develop a first-of-its-kind precision fermentation facility in Mackay, which is expected to reduce costs and raise production capacity significantly.

This follows a recent announcement on the Australian Government’s support in expanding Cauldron’s existing 25,000-litre demo facility in New South Wales.

With the government backing and new facility, the company aims to become the largest end-to-end contract manufacturer for precision fermented bioproducts within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

This facility, called Cauldron Bio-fab, will deploy the company’s hyper-fermentation technology, which is claimed to overcome existing continuous fermentation challenges to establish a scalable, repeatable process that would “significantly reduce costs”.

“Cauldron’s hyper-fermentation technology is an enabler for bioproducts that require high volumes of production and where low production costs are critical to achieve viable economics.

“We combine our proprietary ACE media with a novel bioprocess to obtain optimal conditions for microorganism growth that prevents contamination, while maximising productivity and genetic stability. This efficient process results in more output from smaller tanks, thereby driving down costs,” Michele Stansfield, co-founder and CEO of Cauldron, told NutraIngredients-Asia.

According to Stansfield, compared to a 500,000-litre fed-batch line, a hyper-fermentation bio-fab line requires 40% less capital expenditure, delivers over 275% more volume of product, and reduces up to 50% of manufacturing cost.

By achieving price parity with conventional bio-manufactured products, Cauldron’s tech holds “transformative potential” across a variety of sectors, including food, nutrition, beauty and personal care, and biofuels.

Examples of food and nutrition ingredients that could be produced at commercial scale in the Mackay facility, which has a projected annual production of more than 1,000 tonnes, include precision-fermented dairy proteins, egg proteins, and bioactive proteins.

Aspiring leader in biofutures sector

The Queensland Government support of Cauldron is part of its Industry Partnership Program, and aligns with the state’s industry development strategy to establish itself as an APAC biomanufacturing and biorefining hub to meet the demands of an increasingly decarbonising world.

“Australia’s national science agency CSIRO forecasts the precision fermentation of protein ingredients and products could represent an AUD13bn (USD8.75bn) economic opportunity for the country. Additionally, biomanufacturing could help meet the anticipated domestic and export demand for 8.5m tonnes of protein products by 2030.

“The funding to build our first industrial-level operations will enable us to scale our innovative technology and is a major milestone in our journey to redefine the scope of biomanufacturing. We look forward to developing the critical infrastructure to produce essential bioproducts more efficiently and sustainably to meet growing demand,” said Stansfield.

Going forward, Cauldron plans to set up a global network of industrial facilities in multiple geographies.

“By complementing conventional industrial production methods and when implemented at an industrial scale, biomanufacturing can play an important role in strengthening national resilience.

“It has untapped potential in improving food security, meeting decarbonisation targets, developing new domestic supply chains, and creating jobs through localised production.”