Circe: Tailored Fats for Food Applications

cheryl

cheryl

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Circe: Tailored Fats for Food Applications - Harvard

A fermentation-based platform that uses greenhouses gases to produce food-grade fats without the use of plants or animals

The Problem


Human society relies on an inefficient, carbon-intensive linear manufacturing process in which products are created, used, and discarded. This system produces large amounts of waste at every step that is not captured and reused, causing a significant loss of value and damage to the environment.

Food production is responsible for one quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and requires complex global supply chains to grow, manufacture, and transport food ingredients to consumers. The adoption of a more plant-based diet and more sustainable farming practices is beginning to occur, but as the planet’s climate continues to change, our ability to produce enough food to feed humanity is becoming more fraught and requires innovative approaches that can be applied at a large scale.

Wyss Solution

The Circe Project is addressing this problem by using engineered microbes to produce tailored fats without the use of plants or animals that can be incorporated into food products. Circe’s proprietary microbes use the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) to produce a wide range of fats via gas fermentation.
 
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