The Every Company has received US$2 million from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to explore US-based manufacturing of precision fermentation-based protein ingredients. The funds will be used to assess a site’s feasibility to manufacture the biotech specialist’s two main proteins. 

These include “a highly soluble” protein designed to boost the content of the macronutrient and ovalbumin, which can replac functional egg and egg white.

“Investing in biomanufacturing will allow the US to safeguard reliable domestic supply chains, reduce reliance on imports and establish itself as a leader in food technology, especially in the face of rising global challenges such as food insecurity, zoonotic disease risk and climate change,” says CEO, Arturo Elizondo.

Providing “high-quality” nutrition

Every has been developing proteins in Europe and Asia and expects to expand its presence in US markets while strengthening domestic biomanufacturing.

The DoD grant is part of the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program, which aims to improve US biomanufacturing capabilities in several key areas for national security, including food and fuel.

The San Francisco-based firm will develop military use cases for its proteins, primarily using soluble protein to offer high-quality nutrition in high-density formats.

“Our technology allows us to bring novel applications to market using our soluble protein. Imagine a glass of water that looks and tastes like water but contains 20 g of protein. That’s what our protein can do,” says Elizondo.

“Our focus for the next 12 months will be on entering the mass market. However, most of our customers require thousands of metric tons of product. This award will allow us to work toward expanding our production capacity to meet their needs.”

This September, Every was granted a patent to advance egg proteins produced from precision fermentation using its no-animal egg solution.

The patent generally covers any ingredient composition for food products that incorporates recombinant ovalbumin — the principal protein found in egg whites — combined with at least one additional consumable ingredient.