Bill Gates fund invests in Perth startup slashing cow farts in Australian-first

Tech billionaire Bill Gates has invested in a Perth startup working hard to slash the burps and farts of Australian cattle to reduce the damaging effects of methane caused by our beef and dairy industries.

Global climate powerhouse Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), which Gates heads up and which also boasts backers like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Virgin’s Richard Branson, invested in a wildly successful phase two funding round totalling $17.24 million.

It works like this: boffins at Rumin8, a climate technology company, isolate a naturally occurring compound that has anti-methanogenic properties, and by recreating it in a feed form, cows suffer less gas or indigestion, lowering the methane emissions.

“Our laboratory results continue to yield excellent results, our animal trials are reflecting the laboratory results, and the financial modelling we are undertaking is indicating we will be able to supply our products at a commercial price point,” Rumin8 managing director David Messina said.

The overall funds from both seed rounds totalled approximately $25 million, which will be used to rapidly commercialise operations — including building its first manufacturing factory — and head to the global market.

Rumin8’s funding round marks the first time BEV has invested in an Australian company.

“The demand for sustainable protein has never been more apparent, which is why BEV is keenly interested in reducing methane emissions from beef and dairy,” said co-head of BEV’s investment committee Carmichael Roberts.

“Rumin8 offers a low-cost, scalable toolbox that has already proven to be effective in reducing emissions. Our team will support Rumin8 in working closely with farmers to expand the reach of this solution globally.”

Also throwing cash at Rumin8 was Prelude Ventures, Aware Super Sentient WA Growth Fund and Harvest Road Group, an agribusiness owned by high profile Australian mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest and his wife Nicola.

Harvest Road CEO Paul Slaughter — an incredibly serendipitous name for someone working in agriculture — said Rumin8 was a perfect fit for the group’s portfolio.

“We are actively seeking solutions to reduce methane emissions in livestock supply chains, with Harvest Road supporting multiple emerging technologies focussed on methane reduction in ruminant animals,” Slaughter said.

“Feed additives are an important pillar in our strategy to reduce our carbon footprint and support our ambition to help solve the global methane emissions challenge.”

Methane is an incredibly potent greenhouse gas, accounting for 20% of global emissions, yet about 25 times more damaging than carbon dioxide in terms of its capacity to trap heat in the atmosphere.

Australia was embarrassed on the world stage when then-prime minister Scott Morrison was one of just a handful of countries — including China, Russia, India and Iran — who refused to sign a global methane pledge at COP26. Some 90 other countries signed it, including the US and UK.

At the time, then-Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce doubled down on his conservative party’s methane stance.

“The only way you can get your 30% by 2030 reduction in methane on 2020 levels would be to grab a rifle and go out and start shooting your cattle,” Joyce told reporters at the time.

Climate Minister Chris Bowen signed Australia up to the pledge last year.