C16 Biosciences - Brewing Alternatives
There is an ingredient involved in almost every aspect of your life, that until recently, was partly unknown for its ecological harm. This ingredient is in the pizza and chocolate you probably recently gorged yourself on (it’s okay…no judgement here), the deodorant and toothpaste you used, and the biofuels used to transport all of the aforementioned products. The ingredient that you’re probably thinking about here is corn syrup—which is not wrong—but the ingredient I’m actually talking about: Palm Oil.
You might recall the video that surfaced of the Orangutan getting territorial and attempting to Donkey Kong smash machinery that’s destroying her home. This was a result of the horrifying practices of the palm oil industry, which is a leading contributor to global deforestation. The cultivation of palm oil directly threatens 193 critically endangered species, including Orangutans. Considering the exponential expansion of the industry—which increased 15x between 1980 and 2014—the continued growth could negatively affect 54% of threatened mammals and 64% of threatened birds globally.[1]
Now, I’m not someone who turns a blind eye to the other side of the situation (though Carole Baskins fed her husband to the tigers and I don’t care what you have to say), but there has to be reasons why the use of Palm Oil continues to grow, and there is. For many countries the production of palm oil is a huge economic factor and allows millions of families to survive. On top of the financial aspect, a large portion of the worlds’ population relies on this oil as part of their diets. Overall, it’s more efficient and less expensive than many of the alternatives we have today.
That’s where C16 Biosciences comes in.
The mad-scientist trio behind C16 consists of Shara Ticku, David Heller, and Harry McNamara, who met during their time at MIT and come from backgrounds in disciplines such as synthetic biology, bioengineering and healthcare. The idea for exploring an alt palm oil rose from Shara and Harry’s first-hand experiences seeing the destruction caused by the industry during their time in Costa Rica and Singapore. This gave birth to their beautiful corporate child, C16 Biofuels, with the objective to create a sustainable, environmentally friendly, and cost-efficient alternative to palm oil.
To make the oil alternative they use yeast fermentation and produce the oil intracellularly. For the non-bio majors out there, they are essentially the craft beer makers of vegetable oil, where they use a fermentation-based process to “brew” palm oil from microbes. This is done by using a proprietary yeast which is fed with carbon-containing waste, like the excess food from grocery stores. By using this process of converting raw materials into consumable commercial product, they don’t cause deforestation, endanger precious animal species, or force inhumane labor practices.
C16 hopes to break into the market faster by starting with smaller levels of production, aiming to work with products that use lower levels of palm oil first. The company is working on optimizing their process and starting their alt-oil infiltration within the personal care space, and they continue to methodically capture more and more of the palm oil market.
Understanding the global need for palm oil, it is—in my opinion—a no-brainer to keep these oil brewing pioneers on your radar. If you want to throw your hat in the ring, the company is actually hiring for talent specializing in metabolic engineering, fermentation, and product development for its team. If you don’t enjoy pissing off Orangutans (along with hundreds of other species) and want to be on the frontlines of a tech disruptor within a $60-90bn market (with a 7.2% CAGR)[2], check them out. The company is young (founded 2017) and there is no guarantee C16 will be able to completely replace the conventional palm oil market; but with a $20 million Seed A investment round led by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, they are off to a promising start.
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[1] “Palm Oil and Biodiversity.” IUCN, 7 May 2019, www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/palm-oil-and-biodiversity
[2] Research, Zion Market. “Global Report: Palm Oil Market Size & Share Estimated To Touch the Value Of USD 92.84 Billion In 2021.” GlobeNewswire News Room, "GlobeNewswire", 30 July 2019, www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/07/30/1893425/0/en/Global-Report-Palm-Oil-Market-Size-Share-Estimated-To-Touch-the-Value-Of-USD-92-84-Billion-In-2021.html.
