Bühler and Pow.Bio advance precision fermentation with new platform
Key takeaways
- Bühler and Pow.Bio have partnered to launch an integrated, continuous precision fermentation platform.
- The continuous process replaces traditional batch fermentation, enabling faster scale-up, more consistent performance, and lower production costs.
- The platform targets companies constrained by cost or scalability and supports applications ranging from enzymes and organic acids to alternative proteins, lipids, and bioactive compounds.
Bühler Group, a global solution provider for food and animal feed, and Pow.Bio, a pioneer in AI-enabled fermentation technology, have partnered to bring an integrated continuous precision fermentation platform to market.
The partnership is said to advance industrial biomanufacturing by accelerating process development, reducing unit production costs through a continuous process, and improving operation performance.
Continuous fermentation technology
The companies now offer what they call an ultra-efficient and streamlined solution, unlike traditional fermentation approaches that rely on batch or fed-batch processes – stop-and-start methods that require the tank to be emptied and cleaned between runs.
The offering brings together Pow.Bio’s proprietary continuous fermentation technology with Bühler’s 165 years of engineering, delivery, installation, and commissioning services – supported by advanced model-driven control software. The result is a platform that “allows customers to establish precision fermentation capacity faster, with predictable performance, lower unit costs, and a direct path to scale.”
The platform is designed for companies commercializing fermentation-derived products currently produced in fed-batch systems, but constrained by cost, scalability, or inconsistent output.
More efficient production
From established ingredients such as enzymes and organic acids to categories like functional proteins, specialty lipids, and bioactive compounds, the Pow.Bio-Bühler solution is said to offer a continuous, more efficient production pathway.
“Our collaboration with Bühler sets a new benchmark for biomanufacturing: not just faster, but smarter and more robust,” says Shannon Hall, CEO and co-founder of Pow.Bio.
“Clients can now capitalize on proven technology and global deployment expertise to unlock commercial-scale production with lower risk and unprecedented efficiency. This partnership solidifies Pow.Bio’s position at the forefront of industrial biotechnology, enabling us to deliver enduring value for our clients and the sector as a whole.”
Thierry Duvanel, Bühler’s North American director of innovation, adds: “Precision fermentation has the potential to impact the food, feed, and specialty ingredients industries. Companies are already using it to produce dairy, meat, and egg substitutes, alternative oils and fats, and even novel pet food – and we are only at the beginning of what this technology can unlock.”
Bühler and Pow.Bio are ready to begin onboarding customers.
Precision fermentation may be a key puzzle piece in the global protein transition, particularly in the dairy segment. The technology was a headlining theme at The Future of Protein Production summit in the Netherlands (Oct 29–30).
