Carbon recycling company trials CO2 protein production for pet food

The Illinois-based firm is expanding its biorefining capabilities to scale the production of its microbial protein derived from carbon dioxide (CO2), aimed at applications in fish, pet and human alternative protein markets.

The company uses a gas fermentation process involving proprietary bacteria consuming CO2 and low-carbon hydrogen to produce a sustainable, sugar-free, cost-effective protein.

Although the investment amount remains undisclosed, the expansion is part of LanzaTech’s strategy to enter the $1 trillion (€922B) alternative protein market, diversify its consumer base and boost revenue.

Pet food applications

GlobalPETS learned that LanzaTech has completed feed trials for salmon and shrimp and is currently conducting pet food trials in collaboration with a “leading pet food brand.”

“The objective of the trials is to determine the safety of the protein as a food ingredient as well as its viability as a nutritional source of protein,” Zara Summers, Chief Science Officer at LanzaTech, tells GlobalPETS.

Their protein product is being formulated as a colorless and odorless powder. Its functional properties are comparable to whey and pea proteins, making it suitable for both wet and dry pet food formulations.

Future potential

The company is finalizing the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) application, which will be followed by the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval to market these products.

Summers notes to GlobalPETS that following these approvals, the following steps will be “establishing partnerships for protein offtake and scaling up to commercial manufacturing.”

LanzaTech plans to scale its production volume from its current pilot facility in Skokie, Illinois, which produces 2-3 kg daily, to over 80 metric tons (MT) per day by 2028. It also forecasts that an additional 250 MT of protein will be required annually by 2050, when the world population will shoot up to 10 billion and there will be an increased demand for sustainable pet proteins.

Producers of insect protein ingredients have also been quick to tap into this prediction. Feed solutions developed from algae and fungi have also garnered attention from international bodies and investors.