Number 8 Bio rakes in $7 million on methane removal mission

Startup Number 8 Bio has raised $7 million in seed funding to support its mission to develop methane-reducing livestock feed and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the global agriculture industry.

The funding round was led by Main Sequence, a deep tech fund founded by CSIRO, which raised $1.8 million in a pre-seed round last year.

March Group and Breakthrough Victoria also contributed to the latest raise, with the latter investing $1.7 million.

Number 8 Bio is one of several Australian biotech startups aiming to reduce the amount of methane produced by ruminant animals, including cows, sheep and goats.

Collectively, the global livestock industry produces massive amounts of methane.

Methane doesn’t stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, but it’s particularly problematic: methane is much more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.

Startups around the world are considering how to reduce methane production, given the likelihood that a growing global population will drive up demand for animal products.

This includes Australian companies such as Sea Forest, which is commercialising a red algae extract that has been shown to reduce methane emissions when added to livestock feed.

Number 8 Bio has taken a different approach: bioengineering yeast strains that can be mass-fermented in scalable processes.

The startup is also focusing on “efficient digestion” and hopes to provide farmers with feed additives that will increase beef, lamb and wool production while reducing emissions.

Speaking to SmartCompanyNumber 8 Bio CEO and co-founder Dr. Tom Williams says the startup stands out for its dual offering.

“Unlike other companies in the industry, we take a dual approach: we turn off emissions and use other components in the product that control the flow of nutrients to the animal to give the farmer the energy boost he needs,” he says.

The process is scalable, Williams says, and does not require state-of-the-art, precision fermentation to grow the feed additives.

“In terms of production, it’s pretty simple for us,” he says.

“We currently have the equipment in our warehouse in Sydney to produce 30,000 doses a day, which is not particularly large.

“We are very scalable and no longer rely on precision fermentation.”

The venture is undergoing intensive testing, with over 3,000 product variants tested over the past 12 months.

Through this process, Number 8 Bio was able to “eliminate the things that didn’t work and keep the things that did,” Williams says.

“We are close to making decisions on several product variants that we will launch later this year.”

The funds will be used to complete testing, increase production capacity as we expand our Sydney facility and build relationships with early adopters.

While the startup has global ambitions, Number 8 Bio also plans to work with Agriculture Victoria on further testing at dairy research facility Ellinbank SmartFarm and conduct research in partnership with Monash University.

A proposed manufacturing site in regional Australia could help create eight new full-time jobs by 2026.

Victorian Economic Development Minister Tim Pallas said he hoped the investment would create new job opportunities across the state.

“By investing in sustainable agriculture, we are creating more jobs in regional Victoria while reducing 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 in city centres.”

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