DAB.bio, pioneers in biomanufacturing fermentation technology, announced successful fermentation runs in their FAST (Fermentation Accelerated by Separation Technology) bioreactor, demonstrating that the technology lowers the unit cost of fermentation-based production at scale. Using FAST to produce fermented compounds promises to enable higher market shares for biobased ingredients used in everyday products, thereby reducing societies’ dependence on fossil-based chemicals.
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FAST dramatically increases fermentation performance and lowers product costs by continuously removing product from the fermenter. This boosts the amount of product formed and simplifies the purification process and the amount of equipment needed. With existing technology, fermentation and extraction are successive steps and require additional, often expensive and cumbersome equipment. By increasing fermentation-based production by up to tenfold, the technology reduces production costs by 50% and promises to drive higher margins for bio-products worldwide. The technology can also enable the production of completely new and sustainable compounds made using synthetic biology. Industries served include flavors and fragrances, food, nutraceuticals, natural insecticides, pigments, and specialty chemicals.
“We believe the real change in biomanufacturing can only occur by combining biology with radical process improvements – whatever synthetic biology can make, we can make cheaper,” said Eric van der Meer, Chief Executive Officer at DAB.bio. “With 10 years of R&D, DAB.bio has developed the first technology platform that addresses the world’s need for enormous amounts of fermentation capacity. The success of FAST, which we are making available to all biomanufacturers, is the catalyst for a scale-up across the industry.”
FAST in Operation
Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) currently houses DAB.bio’s demonstration fermentation unit of 500L (FAST500) which is available to biomanufacturers that want to prove economic viability of their compounds at scale. DAB.bio’s proprietary hardware, built in less than 12 months, integrates production and recovery of a wide range of biobased products.