NEW TECH FOODS

The US Department of Defense has revealed the remaining nine winners of its Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP).

The announcement completes the first phase of DBIMP investment at 34 total awards worth over $60 million. Five of the grants were awarded to precision fermentation companies.

Perfect Day, The Every Company, Cauldron, Liberation Labs and Checkerspot were among the awardees of DBIMP, which looks to bolster US bioeconomic strengths while helping the department achieve advanced defense capabilities.

Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for research and engineering, said: “The next industrial revolution will be a biomanufacturing revolution. DoD is keenly aware of that reality. DBIMP's investment in a diverse set of companies will help transition US bioindustrial manufacturing from the laboratory to a network of large-scale production facilities, able to fortify defense supply chains for critical chemicals and novel materials while positioning the US bioeconomy for surging growth.”

The companies will receive funding to produce business and technical plans that detail construction of domestic bioindustrial manufacturing production facilities under the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), a contract vehicle awarded and overseen by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.

These proposals will be eligible to receive follow-on ‘build’ awards providing access to up to $100 million to construct US-based bioindustrial manufacturing facilities.

Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for industrial base policy within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment, commented: “The introduction of new investment and funding strategies aligned to the National Defense Industrial Strategy offers the DoD rapid access to commercial solutions for defence requirements. The DIBC OTA provides DoD with new paths for innovation through industry and ensures continued US competitiveness.”

A breakdown of the awards for precision fermentation companies:

🧫 Cauldron Molecules, based in in Australia and the US, was awarded $1.76 million to plan a commercial-scale facility that uses hyper-fermentation to produce precision-fermented products ranging from food proteins to fuels and chemicals at a lower cost than traditional production methods.

🧫 Checkerspot, based in California, was awarded $3.19 million to plan a facility that would produce lubricants free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and triglyceride oils as food ingredients.

🧫 Every Company, based in California, was awarded $2 million to plan a facility for producing performance protein products for human nutrition. These proteins have unique features such as high solubility and increased protein density that can be easily incorporated into a range of form factors – high-concentration protein gels, hot and cold beverages and meal rations.

🧫 Liberation Labs, New York, was awarded $1.4 million to develop plans for scaling up operations of its new facility in Richmond, Indiana. The flexible, industrial-scale infrastructure of this facility would address the growing need for precision-fermented bioproducts within the defence application areas of food, operational fitness and fabrication.

🧫 Perfect Day, based in California, was awarded $1.24 million to develop plans for a commercial facility to produce whey protein with fermentation. This biobased whey can be used to supplement military ready-to-eat meals and provide a safe source of protein for service members with dairy allergies.

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