Critical Need for this Technology
There is an urgent need for domestic and resilient supply chains for high-value chemicals and materials used in advanced manufacturing industries, such as semiconductor fabrication, as the U.S. scales up its capabilities. Currently, over 80% of advanced materials are produced overseas, presenting a serious risk to America’s chemical security. Biomanufacturing has the potential to address the limitations of the current supply chain by producing high-value chemicals directly from domestic and renewable feedstocks. However, traditional bioprocesses have been limited by high operational costs and limitations in microbial engineering and physiology. C1 Bio addresses this gap by enabling the bioconversion of crude waste products derived from industrial processes into high-value aromatic chemicals. C1 Bio uses engineered microbial strains and state-of-the-art purification technology to reduce operational costs and improve product quality over traditional synthesis routes.
Supplemental Need for this Technology
C1 Bio uses an abundant and underutilized byproduct of biodiesel manufacturing as a feedstock, creating an additional revenue stream for American farmers and supporting the biodiesel industry. Additionally, C1 Bio’s process addresses the growing demand for bio-based chemicals due to the significant harm to both human health and the environment from the production and use of petrochemicals. Beyond applications in advanced manufacturing, C1 Bio chemical products can be used in pharmaceuticals, foods, and cosmetics.
Competition
Compared to conventional petrochemical manufacturing for high-performance chemicals, C1 Bio’s process is:
- Cleaner: Bioproducts contain less metal contamination than those made through traditional catalysis, enabling applications in electronics and pharmaceuticals manufacturing.
- Sustainable: Uses abundant and domestic waste products as an input, reducing reliance on foreign oil.
- Versatile: Using biology, other high-value chemicals are readily accessible, opening the door to additional chemical markets in the future.
Key Innovation
C1 Bio is using precision fermentation and bioprocess engineering of solvent-tolerant bacteria to upgrade industrial waste streams into high-value aromatic chemicals.
R&D Status
- Application of highly-efficient genetic engineering in bacteria for metabolic engineering
- Bench-scale demonstration of growth on real-world waste streams
- Optimizing product capture and purification technology
Team Overview
- Ryan Cardiff, Co-founder and CEO
- Diego Alba Burbano, Co-founder and CTO
- Michael Guzman, Co-founder and Scientific Advisor
Technology Overview
- Status: Pre-Seed
- Primary industry: Biotechnology
- Category (i.e. tech keywords):
- Estimated annual revenue: Pre-revenue
We are looking for:
Mentoring: Yes
Funding: Yes
Commercial partnerships: Yes
Customer identification: Yes
