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A California-based biotechnology startup, Biosphere, has secured a $9 million grant from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to develop portable bioreactors capable of producing protein through gas fermentation technology.
The funding, which will run over a three-and-a-half-year period, will support the creation of compact and mobile systems designed to produce food ingredients and other biological materials in environments where normal supply chains may be disrupted.
Biosphere, founded in 2022 by materials scientist Dr Brian Heligman and molecular biologist Arye Lipman, is focused on developing UV-sterilised bioreactors that the company says can significantly reduce the cost of biomanufacturing.
The company explained that the Defence Department is increasingly exploring distributed manufacturing systems that can operate in remote or conflict-prone locations where access to traditional supplies is difficult.
According to Biosphere, the project will lead to the development of a prototype bioreactor capable of continuous operation using ultraviolet light sterilisation, water recycling systems, media recycling, and downstream processing technology.
Speaking on the project, Biosphere co-founder and CEO, Dr Heligman, said the company recently acquired intellectual property from a struggling gas fermentation company involved in producing “protein from air.”
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He noted that the company’s main focus remains building durable and automated hardware systems that can operate with minimal maintenance.
Unlike conventional bioreactors that rely on steam sterilisation systems, Biosphere’s technology uses ultraviolet light to eliminate contaminants. The company said this approach could reduce construction and operating costs while also allowing faster sterilisation and more compact reactor designs.
Heligman explained that traditional steam-based systems require expensive infrastructure, including pipes, boilers, valves, and large amounts of water. By replacing steam with UV light, firms can simplify operations and improve efficiency.
The company said it has already validated the technology at laboratory scale and pilot levels and is currently working on a larger 20,000-litre demonstration facility.
The Defence Department-backed project will also explore gas fermentation, a process that feeds microbes with gases instead of sugar-based materials.
Gas fermentation technology has attracted growing interest globally because it can potentially lower production costs and utilise waste gases while producing food, animal feed, fuels, and chemicals.
Several companies worldwide, including Calysta, Air Protein, Solar Foods, Unibio, and LanzaTech, are already working on similar technologies.
However, experts say gas fermentation remains technically difficult due to challenges in dissolving gases such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide into water efficiently enough for microbes to process them effectively.
Heligman admitted that scaling the technology is expensive and complex but said Biosphere believes its reactor designs can help solve some of the industry’s key problems, including sterility, gas transfer, heat removal, and high capital costs.
He added that the government funding gives the company room to experiment with more advanced reactor designs that would normally be too risky or expensive for private investors to support.
The company also said future partnerships with other gas fermentation firms remain possible as the technology continues to develop.
Biosphere further highlighted the growing role of enabling technologies in improving biomanufacturing efficiency, pointing to innovations focused on improving microbial performance and fermentation stability.
Industry analysts say interest in alternative protein production and gas fermentation has increased in recent years as countries and companies seek more sustainable food production systems and supply chain resilience.
