21st.BIO opens a more sustainable avenue for industrial-scale dairy protein production

Global bioproduction specialst, 21st.BIO, has announced it is granting access to its precision fermentation technology platform to ingredient manufacturers enabling the production of dairy proteins at competitive cost. This follows the company's successful scaling of the beta-lactoglobulin protein, a major protein in milk that provides highly valuable nutrition and textural components of milk and other dairy ingredients.  

By offering its precision fermentation technology platform widely, 21st.BIO mitigates the cost and time associated with development, opening access to proven industrial scale production technology for precision fermentation of alternative proteins. The platform provides a sustainable and less carbon and resource intensive alternative to traditional animal-based production methods and helps to stabilize global food supply chains. According to recent studies, producing proteins via precision fermentation reduces greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, and land and water use by 90 to 96%, compared to animal-derived production.

With 21st.BIO’s platform, customers have access to world-leading industrial production strains, fermentation processes, as well as support with scale-up, tech transfers to contract manufacturers, and regulatory approvals to get to market at speed and with lower costs. The company is continuously optimizes the strains and processes, ensuring customers are always ahead of the market.

21st.BIO has what it claims to be one of the most advanced precision fermentation technology platforms in the industry for large-scale production. The technology foundation is licensed from Novozymes, which has 40 years’ experience perfecting production strains and processes for industrial production. The technology base is already used to provide dozens of food-grade products on the market today.  

21st.BIO’s technology can be optimized for each customer’s specific purpose, such as the nutritional fortification of a plant-based product, improvement of texture in alternative dairy and medical nutrition.  

Customers of 21st.BIO can be innovative start-ups planning to take one or several proteins to the market, as well as established players expanding into sustainable alternatives, and dairy companies aiming to grow with the increasing global demand for proteins while reducing their footprint on the environment.  

“We founded 21st.BIO with one simple mission: to make precision fermentation technology accessible to as many companies as possible, so they can successfully take their product to market at a competitive price," said Thomas Schmidt, CEO (pictured left in the main image). "We believe this is the best way for technology to support and accelerate the transition to more sustainable and better nutrition globally. With this new offering, I am proud that companies will be able to safely scale innovation into industrial production and meet global demand utilizing our technology and expertise.”

With a technology platform based on Novonesis (formerly Novozymes), and financing from Novo Holdings, 21st.BIO is uniquely positioned to help accelerate the quest for greener and more nutritious alternatives in the food industry.