MicroBioGen, an Australian company with a team of scientists that are passionate about the environment and solutions for a sustainable future, focused on how yeast can be used to transform waste into SCP for fishmeal at Aqua Farm 2024.
The CEO of MicroBioGen, an Australian industrial biotechnology company and provider of ‘Yeast Innovation as a Service’, presented on opportunities for producing sustainable, alternative aquafeed using yeast technology, at international aquaculture conference, Aqua Farm 2024.
MicroBioGen CEO Geoff Bell discussed how the company’s innovative yeast platform technology, based on improving the industrial capabilities of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, can be leveraged to transform industrial waste and side streams into valuable single cell protein (SCP), optimised as a fishmeal replacement. Bell presented on day one of the event in the Innovative Alternative Proteins session and joined the subsequent panel discussion.
After its inaugural success last year, Aqua Farm brought together aquaculture industry professionals, leading academics, scientists, farmers and policy makers from around the world for a three-day conference in Australia. The event provided a platform to discuss concerns facing aquaculture, facilitate collaboration, and confer the latest findings, trends and technologies across the industry. This year’s event was held on 15-17 May in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia.
As the global demand for protein continues to rise, so does the demand for fish. With wild fish stocks declining, aquaculture is expanding to fill the gap. Current aquafeeds rely heavily on fishmeal as the main protein component. However, fishmeal as an ingredient for aquafeed is unsustainable, and there is a need for more environmentally friendly protein substitutes that have comparable nutritional value, MicroBioGen states.
MicroBioGen’s innovative non-GM yeast technology offers a groundbreaking solution in transforming large-scale industrial waste and side streams into sustainable, high-quality protein. The company continues by explaining that this technology harnesses waste products such as glycerol, organic acids, and residual sugars from ethanol and biodiesel production, as well as lactose from dairy processing, to produce bioavailable protein for fish and animal feeds, thereby promoting environmental sustainability and economic efficiency in aquaculture.
In developing a protein rich SCP alternative to fishmeal that can be produced from abundant waste products, the company states that its breakthrough provides a cost-effective, scalable solution to fortify aquafeeds with sustainably sourced, high-quality protein. Additional benefits include a balanced amino acid profile and higher levels of natural, beneficial enzymes that aid in the absorption of nutrients.
“For nearly two decades, MicroBioGen has developed yeast technology for industrial purposes aimed at improving our partners and their customers’ process efficiency, economics and sustainability. Here, we enable the transformation of what was once low- and negative-value waste into a high-quality protein that can serve as a fishmeal replacement. In short, we help global industries make more with less, in a more efficient and sustainable way,” says Geoff Bell, CEO and co-founder at MicroBioGen.
“We are excited to be developing opportunities for alternative fish feed and leveraging the same industry-leading ‘Yeast Innovation as a Service’ that we deliver to our global partners in various industries. Our technology has already been deployed in other industries such as biofuels. We look forward to working with new partners to create a cost-effective, high-margin protein ingredient for aquafeed that can be produced at scale,” Bell concludes.
