Synonym awarded Open Philanthropy funding to explore gas fermentation for sustainable food production

Synonym, the New York-based biomanufacturing firm developing and funding essential infrastructure for the biorevolution, has announced that it has been awarded funding from Open Philanthropy to advance research into gas fermentation for food production.

Open Philanthropy, a grant-making organization which aims to use its resources to help others as much as it can, is supporting Synonym's work to help the bioeconomy reach its full economic and climate-impact potential. While Open Philanthropy’s interest in gas fermentation as a food production technology is rooted in its resilience to tail-event disruptions in traditional agriculture, Synonym is also eager to examine its potential financial advantages over fermentation processes that leverage plant-based carbon sources like dextrose.

Synonym, with its team of experienced process engineering and capital markets experts, will utilize the funding to conduct comparative techno-economic assessments of single-cell protein production using various gas fermentation techniques. This analysis will encompass a detailed examination of capital expenditures across multiple process designs, as well as overall operating expenditures, covering nutrient media, staffing, utilities, and more.

"Synonym has been on a transformative journey towards building more sustainable supply chains of the future," said Crystal Bleecher, Vice President of Engineering. "This funding from Open Philanthropy will help us evaluate different adaptable feedstock processes for generating sustainable feed sources at larger scales. We are excited to contribute to Open Philanthropy’s mission to build more secure and resilient global systems, including the food system."