Pow.bio: Biomanufacturing for a Growing World
Shannon Hall and Ouwei Wang on how the future involves using less resources to make more.
Fermentation, the process of breaking down sugars using the enzymes of microorganisms, is as old as civilization itself.
It now holds the key to the future of industrial production.
In the wild, fermentation is slow and unpredictable, as many sourdough bread makers and beer enthusiasts discovered during the early days of the pandemic. And that’s what most people envision when they hear the word fermentation. But this type of fermentation has been successfully scaled for the commercial production of breads, beers and kombucha, among other products.
Now, scientists are able to engineer the fermentation process to use microbes to manufacture consumer products like palm oil, cosmetics, cheese, medicines and even plastics on an industrial scale. This process is called precision fermentation and it can be used to make biology-derived products that have a much lower impact on climate and land and water use than the same products made conventionally.
Making fermentation 100x better. Not kidding.
Co-Founders: Shannon Hall & Ouwei Wang
Last Funding Stage: Series A
Vector: Biological Machines
$14M
Funding to Date
Shannon Hall & Ouwei Wang
Founder