In a unique blend of clean energy and biotechnology, Calgary-based startup Cvictus is “trying to tackle some of the world’s largest issues with our new technologies,” says Katrina Stewart, director of biotechnology and carbon reduction in this interview with RealAgriculture's Amber Bell.
Cvictus says it uses a process called enhanced hydrogen recovery to process ultra-deep coal while capturing all of the CO2 that comes to surface and re-injecting that back underground. From this process, they produce methanol—fuelling their second focus: sustainable animal feed.
The idea isn’t new. Stewart explains, “Back in the 70s and 80s, a company called ICI utilized methanol-based fermentation to create a single cell protein from bacteria that basically eats methanol...as its only source of carbon and energy.” The product was widely used in the EU and UK, but the method fell out of favour due to volatile methanol prices, she says.
With their ability to generate “low cost, low carbon methanol,” Stewarts says that they see a chance to revive the technology. “We’re trying to kind of bridge the gap, revitalize it with modern lenses,” she says, noting that today’s protein market is hungry for sustainable, non-photosynthetic sources.
Unlike soy or fish meal, which have “huge environmental footprints,” this method has “control over all of our inputs and outputs” and “can be cost competitive with soybean meal, but at the same quality as fish meal.”
In partnership with the University of Alberta, and national innovation organization Mitacs, Cvictus says it has recreated the fermentation process and is now aiming to scale-up production for animal trials.
