Startup Number 8 Bio has secured $7 million in seed funding to drive its mission to develop methane-reducing livestock feed and lower greenhouse gas emissions from the global agriculture industry.
The funding round was led by Main Sequence, the CSIRO-founded deep tech fund that participated in last year’s $1.8 million pre-seed round.
The March Group and Breakthrough Victoria also contributed in the latest raise, with the latter investing $1.7 million.
Number 8 Bio is one of several Australian biotech startups dedicated to reducing the volume of methane produced by ruminant livestock including cows, sheep, and goats.
All told, the global livestock industry produces a profound volume of methane.
Methane does not stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, but it is particularly problematic: methane is significantly more effective at containing heat within the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 20-year-span.
Startups worldwide are focused on how to cut back on methane production, given the likelihood a growing global population will push demand for livestock products.
That includes Australian ventures like Sea Forest, which is commercialising an extract from red seaweed shown to lower methane emissions when it is added to livestock feed.
Number 8 Bio is taking a different approach: bio-engineering strains of yeast, which can be mass fermented in scalable operations.
The startup is also focused on “performance digestion”, and hopes to provide farmers with feed additives capable of increasing beef, lamb, and wool production while reducing emissions.
Speaking to SmartCompany, Number 8 Bio CEO and co-founder Dr Tom Williams says the startup stands out for its two-fold offerings.
“In contrast to other companies in this space, we have a dual approach, where we shut off the emissions and have other components to the product that control the flow of nutrition towards the animal to give the farmer the boost that they need,” he says.
The process is scalable, Williams says, and not reliant on cutting-edge precision fermentation to cultivate the feed additives.
“In terms of manufacturing, it’s quite simple for us,” he says.
“We currently have equipment in our Sydney warehouse capable of making 30,000 doses a day, and it’s not particularly large.
“We’re very scalable, and don’t rely on precision fermentation anymore.”
The venture is deep into trials, testing more than 3,000 product variants within the past 12 months.
The process has allowed Number 8 Bio to “cut things out that didn’t work, and retain things that have worked,” Williams says.
“And we’re close to settling on a few product variants that we’ll take forward commercially at the end of this year.”
The funding will be used to finish off those trials, establish manufacturing capacity while building out its Sydney site, and establish relationships with early adopters.
While the startup has global ambitions, Number 8 Bio also plans to collaborate with Agriculture Victoria on further trials at the Ellinbank SmartFarm dairy research facility, and conduct research in partnership with Monash University.
A proposed manufacturing site in regional Australia by 2026 could help create eight new full-time jobs.
Victorian Minister for Economic Growth Tim Pallas hoped the investment would provide new employment opportunities across the state.
“By investing in sustainable agriculture, we are creating more jobs in regional Victoria while also reducing our emissions,” he said in a statement.
“We know that by supporting innovation in sectors like sustainable agriculture we create more jobs in the regions — not just the inner city.”
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Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
