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Calysta

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Calysta
Company typePrivate
IndustryBiotechnology
Founded2012; 14 years ago (2012)
FounderJosh Silverman
Headquarters
Menlo Park, California
,
U.S.
Key people
Alan Shaw (CEO)
ProductsProtein for animal and fish feed
Websitecalysta.com

Calysta is a privately held biotechnology company based in California that develops and commercializes microbial protein ingredients through gas-fermentation technology for use in animal feed and other food applications. Calysta uses methanotrophic bacteria to ferment methane into single-cell protein ingredients designed for aquaculture and livestock feed applications.[1] and other food ingredients.[2][3]

Since 2016, Calysta has operated a demonstration plant in Teesside, England,[4] that uses methanotroph bacteria to convert methane into FeedKind® single cell protein[5] under a UK government grant. The product holds approval for inclusion in fish and livestock feed in the European Union.[4][6]

Founded in 2012 as a spin-out from DNA2.0 (now ATUM), a US synthetic biology company, Calysta secured venture funding to commercialize its methane-to-protein technology.[7]

History

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Calysta was founded in 2012 in Menlo Park, California[2][8] by Josh Silverman,[4] and is led by CEO Alan Shaw.[1][9]

By June 2013, the firm began working with NatureWorks to use methane fermentation to produce lactic acid.[10][11] Calysta’s protein fermentation platform builds on earlier research into methanotrophic fermentation, including work initially developed in the 1980s by the Norwegian energy company Statoil.[12] In 2014, Calysta purchased and further developed the technology for producing animal feed ingredients.[6] Using the ten-million-dollar total funding from investors including Aqua-Spark,[13] Calysta began a study to determine the viability of a mass production facility.[14]

In 2016 Calysta opened a pilot protein production facility in Teesside, England with £2.8 million ($3.7 million) in UK Government support; that site has since been decommissioned as the company focuses on commercial-scale manufacturing in Chongqing, China.[15] In early 2016, the firm announced it had raised $30 million in funding led by Cargill, an American agribusiness corporation.[12]

The firm's Teesside facility opened in September 2016.[16] The facility is dedicated to the production of the company's chief product, "FeedKind protein."[17] The firm raised an additional $40 million in May 2017 from existing and new investors including Japan's Mitsui & Co. and Singapore's Temasek Holdings.[1][18][19] The firm recently completed its first commercial scale production facility in Chongqing, China with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes of product per year.[20]

Operations

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Calysta's processes rely on methanotrophs (specifically Methylococcus capsulatus[6]) which naturally convert methane into methanol by the enzyme, methane monooxygenase.[21] Calysta’s process uses naturally occurring methanotroph bacteria to produce single-cell protein without genetic modification, intended for use in commercial aquaculture and livestock feeds.[6][22][23] Protein produced from methane is being offered as a substitute or supplement in the farmed fish industry which conventionally employs fishmeal and fish oil as its source of protein.[13]

The company's manufacturing facilities have been using natural gas as their source of methane. Plans for a U.S. manufacturing facility reported before 2019[1][24][25] have not been documented in later independent coverage; as of 2025, Calysta’s primary commercial production occurs at its industrial-scale plant in Chongqing, China.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Koh, Ann (2017-09-26). "Landfill Gas for Dinner? Scientists to Cook Food From Waste". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  2. ^ a b Bullis, Kevin (2012-10-30). "Biofuels Companies Drop Biomass and Turn to Natural Gas". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  3. ^ Lippman, Daniel (2014-01-29). "Can Plastic Be Made Environmentally Friendly?". Scientific American. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  4. ^ a b c Palmer, Maija (2017-02-01). "Methane-based animal feed is more than just hot air". Financial Times. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  5. ^ EOS, April 2019, page 52
  6. ^ a b c d "Gas guzzlers". The Economist. 2015-04-25. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  7. ^ "Calysta Energy™ Targets Natural Gas as Advantaged Feedstock for Transportation Fuels and Chemicals - Bio-based News -". Bio-based News. 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  8. ^ Noel, Andrew (2012-10-22). "Ex-Codexis CEO Shaw Forms Gas-Based Biological Feedstock Company". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  9. ^ Herndon, Andrew (2013-05-01). "Biofuel Pioneer Forsakes Renewables to Make Gas-Fed Fuels". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  10. ^ Protti-Alvarez, Francinia (2013-06-18). "NatureWorks, Calysta Energy enter R&D to produce lactic acid via methane fermentation". Chemical Week. Archived from the original on 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  11. ^ McCoy, Michael (2016-03-14). "NatureWorks advances methane-to-lactic acid". C&EN Global Enterprise. 94 (11): 15–16. doi:10.1021/cen-09411-buscon004.
  12. ^ a b Helmer, Jodi (2016-03-17). "Methane-eating bacteria could reduce the impact of our big appetite for fish". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  13. ^ a b Gunther, Marc (2015-03-11). "Can Aqua-Spark fund the future of aquaculture?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  14. ^ Schatz, Robin D. (2015-05-26). "Innovation for the Fish Farm". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  15. ^ Bridgen, Mike (2016-01-14). "Calysta, a US biotech company, is investing £30m in a fish feed centre". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  16. ^ McNeal, Ian (2016-09-19). "Multi-million pound fish food factory which is creating scores of jobs opens on Teesside". Gazette Live. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  17. ^ Hugill, Steven (2016-09-21). "Calysta has opened £30m Wilton site to make ingredient aimed at reducing salmon farming industry's dependence on fishmeal". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  18. ^ Yap, Shiwen (2017-05-03). "Singapore: Temasek participates in Calysta $40m Series D led by Mitsui". Deal Street Asia. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  19. ^ Bomgardner, Melody M. (2017-05-08). "Calysta raises money for fish food". Chemical & Engineering News. 95 (19): 10.
  20. ^ "Calysseo's FeedKind plant opens in China, with demand for premium aquafeed soaring | SeafoodSource". www.seafoodsource.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  21. ^ Thayer, Ann M. (2013-04-22). "Start-ups To Mine Methane Troves". Chemical & Engineering News Archive. 91 (16): 20–21. doi:10.1021/cen-09116-bus1.
  22. ^ Painter, Kristen Leigh (2017-01-14). "Cargill's quest for fish food grows, enriching canola in Montana and growing protein in tank". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  23. ^ Lierop, Wal Van (2017-10-08). "Canada must prepare now for the post-carbon economy". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  24. ^ Risher, Wayne (2016-11-29). "Cargill, Calysta to open fish food factory in Memphis". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  25. ^ Lantrip, Patrick (2017-04-27). "Cargill, Calysta Break Ground on Presidents Island Facility". Memphis Daily News. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
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