A Shaw thing

This was the ambitious target set by the CEO of Calysta, Dr Alan Shaw, at the opening of “the first commercial gas fermenter in the world”, on Teesside yesterday.

In front of an international audience that included retailers, producers, investors and government representatives, the former Teessider who now runs the Californian biotech company, spoke with huge pride of the “unique facility, the only one in the world, and it’s in Teesside”, adding that “this is not a chemistry experiment, this is the real deal.”

Produced using the world’s only commercially validated gas fermentation process, FeedKind protein is a natural, traceable and safe non-animal source of protein. It is approved for sale and use in many animal feeds in the EU and has been tested on multiple fish species, including salmon. The facility will become fully operational in Q4 2016.

Earlier this year Calysta partnered with Cargill for production of FeedKind protein in North America and entered into a global joint marketing agreement. A world scale plant is expected to open in the United States by 2018.

Dr Shaw said: “The opening of this plant represents the end of a decade of development and heralds a new era in the race to sustainably feed the world’s growing population.

“By 2050 the global population is expected to rise from 7.4 billion today to 9.6 billion and require 70 per cent more protein than is currently available. Calysta can help meet this need by supplying the aquaculture industry with a naturally produced, sustainable and traceable feed alternative to replace conventional ingredients based on fishmeal and soya. Calysta’s proprietary technology enables retailers and consumers to have increased confidence in the integrity of their food.

“Our first focus is the salmon farming industry and we were very pleased to welcome representatives from a number of key producers today. FeedKind protein has been shown to improve growth rates, nitrogen retention and gut health in Atlantic salmon.”

Hope for the region

 Anna Turley, Member of Parliament for Redcar, officially opened the facility, adjacent to the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI).

She said: “This is exactly the sort of development we need in Teesside”, following the loss of 3,000 steel workers’ jobs last year and she heralded it as “a symbol of what could be” as well as “a potential fourth industrial revolution for us”.

She added that it was a “vote of confidence” in the region and could pave the way for Teesside to become “a Silicon Valley for biological science”.

The plant is supported by a conditional Exceptional Regional Growth Fund (EGRF) award and represents a total potential investment of £30 million. When completed, the facility is expected to provide employment for 35 to 40 people.