DOD funds fermentation projects

The US Department of Defense has selected 12 more companies for funding through its Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program. All the firms are using fermentation to make chemicals and fuels. The awardees—Air Protein, Algenesis, Bluestem Biosciences, C16 Biosciences, Cellibre, Danimer Scientific, Erg Bio, ETSU Research, Fermworx, Mussel Polymers, Onego Bio, and Savor Foods—will each receive up to $2 million to develop detailed plans for commercial-scale biomanufacturing plants. Resulting designs will be eligible for up to $100 million in implementation funds. The White House says it expects 30 total projects to receive funding.