Harvard spinoff Circe Bioscience unveils gas fermentation platform

In Boston, Circe Bioscience has licensed a gas fermentation technology from Harvard University’s Wyss Institute that can produce molecules identical to sugars, fats, biodegradable plastics, and biofuels, using only CO₂, water, and electricity.

Circe’s initial target products are triglycerides. The company has already produced the world’s first gas fermentation-derived chocolate and is exploring other fats, such as milkfat for non-dairy milk products and palm oil for use in food, cosmetics, and fuels.

“One of the great challenges humanity faces is how to maintain global growth and production while decarbonizing everything simultaneously. Circe is addressing this critical problem by using gas fermentation to manufacture the products and molecules we need in a carbon-negative way,” said Shannon Nangle, Ph.D., who co-founded Circe along with fellow Wyss member Marika Ziesack, Ph.D.