Why we invested in EnginZyme

Efficient biomanufacturing platform based on biocatalysts, enabling a sustainable transformation of chemical manufacturing.g.

EnginZyme’s cell-free biomanufacturing platform is enabled by a core technology based on enzyme immobilization.

Synthetic biology promises novel sustainable production processes and products based on engineered biology. By leveraging tools coming from computer science, robotics, biology and chemistry the synthetic biologist is able to design and create new biological entities, e.g. organisms and enzymes, with novel properties.

Today, the chemical industry faces major sustainability challenges. Chemical synthesis is often very energy consuming and polluting. And thus, in past decades, synthetic biologists have looked at the possibility of using synthetic biology to transform the unsustainable chemical industry by substituting chemical synthesis with biological synthesis. American firms like Gingko Bioworks, Zymergen and Amyris has lead the way with bacterial manufacturing platforms capable of producing chemicals, materials and fuels.

While we believe in synthetic biology, we don’t believe in the viability of using living cells for the purpose of cost efficient and scalable manufacturing of commodity products. Biomanufacturing using living cells has proven to have inherent scalability limitations and large technoeconomic cost contributions that inhibits its applicability on the commodity market. And if synthetic biology fails to address commodity products, it will not transform the chemical industry.

EnginZyme is taking the approach of cell free biomanufacturing using enzymes – the biological catalyst molecules of nature that drive chemical reactions in an efficient and sustainable manner. With the combination of proprietary technology to stabilize and arrange enzymes on a support structure, and an automation platform for rapid development of novel enzymes and processes, they are making industrial biomanufacturing of chemicals cost and scale competitive versus conventional chemical synthesis processes.

We invested in EnginZyme because they provide a viable pathway for synthetic biology to transform the chemical industry without asking customers to compromise on cost and scale. In that they are unique, and it is a competitive advantage that we think will define success.

Investment date

December 2022