Bill Gates supports a company working to reduce the harmful effects of cow burps.
The billionaire Microsoft co-founder has invested in Australian climate tech startup Rumin8, which is developing a dietary supplement that stops cows from emitting methane – a harmful greenhouse gas that affects climate change.
Due to the way their digestive system works, cows emit large amounts of methane along with other animals such as goats and deer. Research suggests that, for example, in the US Cattle are the main supplier to the methane emissions. With that in mind, we could certainly use fewer animal burps.
Bill Gates tries to help. His support comes through Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), an organization he founded in 2015 to support top companies working on green projects. A recent BEV-led funding round secured Perth-based Rumin8 $12 million, allowing it to continue development work before commercializing its supplement.
Rumin8’s dietary supplement is a synthetic version of red algae, a food that has been found to prevent the formation of methane in a cow’s digestive system. It works by blocking a specific enzyme involved in the production of methane when a cow digests her feed.
Previous research using real seaweed yielded promising results, but cows rejected the salty taste, prompting some scientists to turn their attention to tastier supplements.
“We are very pleased with the support we have received from climate protection funds around the world,” says Rumin8 Managing Director David Messina said In a statement, he added, “Our lab results continue to provide excellent results, our animal testing reflects the lab results and the financial modeling we have performed shows that we will be able to offer our products at a commercial price point.”
Rumin8 isn’t the first company to pursue the idea of using seaweed — or a synthetic version of it — to reduce cow burps. Hawaii-based Symbrosia, for example, has been working on a similar idea since 2018, although it uses real seaweed (with molasses to eliminate saltiness) instead of a dietary supplement.
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