In a recent announcement that underscores the rise of waste-to-value technologies in an effort to counter environmental and economic challenges, Hyfé, a pioneer in transforming food processing wastewater into sustainable feedstocks and clean water, has raised a solid $9 million in an oversubscribed seed investment round. Synthesis Capital spearheaded the funding round, joined by a consortium of investors, including The Engine, Refactor Capital, Supply Change Capital, Overwater Ventures, X Factor Ventures, and Alumni Ventures. To date, the company has raised a total of $11 million, building on an oversubscribed pre-seed round led by The Engine in April 2022.

The newly acquired capital is earmarked for advancing strategic commercial partnerships, doubling the company’s workforce, and progressing toward pilot-scale technology demonstration. In addition, Synthesis Capital’s co-founder and partner Rosie Wardle will be joining Hyfé’s Board of Directors.

Biomanufacturing is an emerging technology with a powerful promise to decarbonize key sectors, including food, fuels, materials, and chemicals. By 2030, the industry is projected to mitigate at least 3 GT of carbon emissions annually. However, attaining price parity with traditional processes that rely on fossil resources, animal agriculture, and deforestation remains a significant challenge. A crucial hurdle is the cost and availability of sugar feedstocks that fuel bioprocesses. Over the next decade, the demand for glucose by the bioeconomy is predicted to outstrip supply. Therefore, it is crucial to tap into underutilized waste carbon streams as cost-effective, non-competitive feedstocks that minimize disruption to agricultural systems.

"Biomanufacturing can address many pressing global issues, but it must first be made economically viable," emphasized Michelle Ruiz, co-founder, and CEO of Hyfé. "Our innovative approach aims to overcome the fundamental bottlenecks hampering the bioeconomy just as it reaches a pivotal juncture. We're at a historic juncture comparable to the advent of the steam engine, the dawn of science and mass production, and the digital revolution."

Unlike other companies focusing on converting solid food and agricultural waste into fermentation feedstocks, Hyfé leverages its deep expertise in wastewater treatment and fermentation-enabled waste valorization to create feedstocks from food processing wastewater. This untapped carbon source offers multiple benefits:

Food and beverage manufacturers can drastically cut wastewater treatment expenses and enhance water reuse, boosting water resilience and improving overall operating costs.

Biomanufacturers gain access to more sustainable, affordable feedstocks that largely determine fermentation operating expenses and are prone to supply chain disruptions.

Our planet can enjoy the advantages of increasingly carbon-negative manufacturing throughout the supply chain, beginning with the diversion of organic loads entering traditional wastewater treatment, a process that contributes to up to 1.5% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions in the form of methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides.

Hyfé’s cutting-edge technology turns nutrient building blocks from wastewater into easily metabolizable feedstocks for bioprocesses, and they're actively addressing the critical challenges of alternative feedstock development: compositional variability, availability, and lack of data.

"The bioeconomy of the future is estimated to be worth at least $4 trillion, potentially soaring to $30 trillion globally. This presents us with a timely opportunity to catalyze this growth through cost-efficient and sustainable feedstocks," said Rosie Wardle, co-founder, and partner at Synthesis Capital. "We are excited to back Hyfé, a trailblazer in the biomanufacturing revolution, as they leverage their technology to develop more sustainable products across sectors through bioproduction, an urgently needed move to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, rejuvenate the manufacturing sector, fortify our supply chains, and enhance our health and environment.”