Many everyday products are produced through fermentation by microorganisms—some obvious, like the yoghurt you have for breakfast; others less obvious, like the citric acid in your favourite soda. The long list of industrial fermentation processes continues to grow for two key reasons: (1) They can produce complex substances that are otherwise difficult or impossible to make, such as enzymes, drugs like insulin, and various novel animal-free protein sources; (2) They enable the sustainable production of many materials without relying on fossil fuel as raw material. In short: They will play a crucial role in the protein transition and in establishing a circular economy.
Of course, the microorganisms are the central figures, and they must be carefully tailored to fit their process. Optimizing these microbial strains can take years of work by dedicated researchers and often requires advanced technology, making it is costly aspect of the research and development of a fermentation process.
Our new technology aims to revolutionize laboratory evolution methods for strain optimization. Instead of requiring daily work in the laboratory, the setup would run for months without interventions and without the need for complex equipment, making it easy to scale up.
By developing a working prototype and demonstrating our technology in real-world use cases—as part of the BiotechBooster program—we aim to empower the biotech industry to speed up innovation and meet the challenges of tomorrow.
