)
Cauldron Ferm, a next-generation biomanufacturer based in regional NSW, has been given a major leg-up by the Queensland Government to develop a cutting-edge precision-fermentation contract-manufacturing facility in Mackay that will be the first and largest of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region.
The biomanufacturing site will deploy Cauldron’s novel hyper-fermentation technology, a breakthrough continuous fermentation process which significantly reduces costs for the production of bio-based products.
The Cauldron Bio-fab in Mackay will have the manufacturing capacity to supply a range of sectors with cost-effective, resource-efficient bioproducts.
With projected annual production of more than 1,000 tonnes, the facility will produce key inputs for the food, nutrition, materials, beauty, personal care, chemicals and biofuels sectors.
The Mackay facility is the first industrial-scale end-to-end production site for Cauldron which already has a 25,000-litre demo facility at Orange in NSW.
Cauldron Ferm was founded in 2022 by Michele Stansfield and David Kestenbaum, with the company earlier this year securing $9.5 million in a Series A round that drew investments from global venture capital funds SOSV and In-Q-Tel, alongside existing investors Main Sequence and Horizons Ventures which tipped $10.5 million into Cauldron in 2023.
Cauldron says the planned industrial facility at Mackay is a stepping stone to its goal of developing a global network of industrial facilities in multiple geographies.
“We are honoured to be receiving support from the Queensland Government to develop our first industrial-scale operations in Mackay,” says Stansfield, the CEO of Cauldron.
“This funding enables us to scale our innovative technology as a major milestone in our journey to redefine the scope of biomanufacturing.”
Unlike the standard "batch" method of short-term fermentation methods currently used in the market, Cauldron has developed a novel bioreactor design and proprietary growth medium formulation that allow the process to go uninterrupted for long stints.
Developed over more than three decades, Cauldron’s proprietary hyper-fermentation technology drives significant gains in productivity, generating more volume at less cost, using smaller bioreactors.
The lower-cost base of bio-based products using this novel method is said to give Cauldron’s proprietary platform “transformative potential” for the global bioeconomy across multiple sectors.
The Queensland’s Government’s support of Cauldron’s project is being made through its Industry Partnership Program (IPP) and aligns with the state’s new-industry development strategy to develop industries that will be in demand as the world decarbonises.
The CSIRO estimates that precision fermentation for protein ingredients and products could worth $13 billion for Australia by 2030.
Cauldron Ferm says when implemented at an industrial scale, biomanufacturing holds untapped potential to improve food security, meet national decarbonisation targets, develop new domestic supply chains and create jobs through localised production.
The IPP will support plans to establish the Cauldron Bio-fab, a new industrial facility in Mackay that will be the first and largest end-to-end contract manufacturer for precision fermented bioproducts in the Asia-Pacific region.
The proposed facility is said to lay the foundation for the infrastructure Queensland needs to catalyse a new commercial-scale industry and complement the region’s agricultural and manufacturing strengths while protect existing jobs in the sugar industry.
)
