Fish Oil Replacement from CO2
The Problem
Aquaculture relies on feeding fish to fish, in the form of marine ingredients. 1/5 of global wild fish harvest goes towards fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) by catching and processing low-trophic level, pelagic fish, notably the Peruvian anchoveta. The FAO estimates that “about 8x more aquaculture feed [400 million tonnes, will be needed] by the end of the century.” FMFO are critical because they provide a balanced amino acid protein and essential fatty acids (EFA). However, FMFO are also aquafeed’s most costly ingredients. For reliant industries, their price is too high and supply too tight and volatile. Aquaculture is increasingly turning to plant-based alternatives. While lower in cost, these attempted substitutes do not provide the digestibility, protein, amino acid, and EFA benefits of FMFO. They often contain anti-nutritional factors like mycotoxins. For these reasons, the aquaculture industry is eager for cost competitive, true replacements. At scale, NovoNutrients’ technology will convert millions of tons of CO2 into millions of tons of fishmeal alternative and fish oil replacement, addressing global challenges: lack of economically viable carbon capture technology; carbon emission driven climate change, sea level rise and ocean acidification; and over-exploitation of reduction fisheries. This project solves for the oil side. We target EFA as ARA, EPA, and DHA with respective minimum percentages of total fat of 0.2, 8.4, and 4.9.
Our Proposal
We are commercializing a fundamentally new way to make the building blocks of food, using natural microbes to break down molecules and reassemble them into lowest-cost feed and food ingredients. This gas fermentation process's key inputs are hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Those untreated, waste emissions of CO2 can come from cement plants, ethanol factories, refineries, or many other industrial sources. Gasification, SMR, stranded gases, and electrolysis (of water) all can produce or include H2. Electrolysis would make our tech a conduit from generating clean power to storing food energy. Based on aerobic, chemoautotrophic bacteria that are selected and adapted to grow on emissions, the firm developed a technology platform to prototype biofuel, bioplastics, and a single cell protein fishmeal alternative (Novomeal). We now propose to apply it to create NovoOil – nutritional lipids as a replacement for fish oil. Advantaged in cost, quality, and carbon negative sustainability, we’ll initially disrupt multi-billion dollar markets for fish and shrimp feed ingredients, replacing fish oil within the rapidly growing aquaculture sector. Future markets are direct nutrition for pets, poultry, livestock, and people. By giving economic value to emissions that are currently considered problematic, NovoOil will be a key Circular Economy product that will introduce the world to our broad, commercial, bio-production platform.
We Assume that...
- Marine-produced fish oil cannot meet market demand, quantitatively or economically
- Gas fermentation technology is engineered to meet efficiency and productivity targets
- An affordable and reliable supply of hydrogen is secured
- Agrifood, aquaculture, CO2 emitters, or similar large interests partner with us to finance our first mass production facility
- NovoOil prototypes achieve the minimum essential fatty acid targets we have enumerated
- Feed blenders and regulators accept the above molecular equivalence of NovoOil to fish oil
Constraints to Overcome
Fish oil has been the critical nutritional lipid in aquafeed for decades. Fish-free oil is relatively new. As with any new product, it will take some getting used to. Our feed blender customers and their customers, fish farmers, are used to fish oil. They will need time to test and use our products, before switching to them. Some may be reluctant to do so. We will work to inform them that our product beats fishmeal on quality, price, and sustainability. With samples from us, these potential customers will test and evaluate in their own facilities. Extensive product analysis and testing to provide data to them will also be conducted by both ourselves and independent organizations, including the FDA and other regulators.
Current Work
Prototype an economical drop-in alternative to fish oil. Eventually: transform millions of tons of waste carbon into millions of tons of fish-oil-free feed ingredients and obviate the need to catch one trillion fish each year in reduction fisheries.
Current Needs
Prototyping NovoOil will require vendor services in analysis and synthetic biology. The project also relies on total corporate overhead being covered by additional investment of at least $65k per month of operations. Being in a position to double that spending would accelerate and increase probability of project success.