The Van Trump Report

Startup “Savor” Makes Butter Out of CO2

Researchers keep finding new ways to utilize one of the most abundant and free resources on the planet – carbon dioxide. While much research is focused on finding ways to make different fuels, California-based “Savor” has been focused on fats. The company is set to introduce its first product, a CO2 “butter” spread, early next year. If all goes well, Savor plans to also tackle milk, ice cream, cheese, meat, tropical oils – all foods where fat is front and center.

The spread is made from a combination of sunflower lecithin combined with fat that Savor makes from CO2 pulled from the air. The CO2 is combined with hydrogen in a special chemical reaction known as the “Fischer-Tropsch” process to transform the mixture into hydrocarbon chains. Those are then oxidized into fatty acids that are “seasoned” with additives and flavors to make a spread that mimics the taste and texture of butter made from real dairy fat.

Kathleen Alexander, Savor’s chief executive, says they are currently “pre-commercial and working through regulatory approval to be able to sell our butter.” They expect that to be early 2025. Right now, the company is working to get chefs on board that, pending approval, will be the first to use the product. It’s not clear what the timeline is for a retail rollout.  

Savor says numerous other dietary fats can be made the same way.  From its dairy fats, Savor plans to make CO2-derived versions of milk, ice cream, and cheese. Savor also hopes to develop synthetic fat alternatives for palm oil and coconut oil.  
 
Savor is not the only CO2 conversion company pursuing substitutes for dietary fats. A Swedish company called “Green-On” is working on making fats for the feed industry.  The company says it proprietary process can mimic and replace tropical oils like palm and coconut, as well as animal fat.

“Circe Bioscience” is another startup utilizing carbon dioxide, though their process is a bit different. Circe is using CO2 as a feedstock for microbes that produce food-grade fats via a fermentation process. Circe launched from the Wyss Institute at Harvard, where the technology was developed.    

All of these new products face the obvious regulatory hurdles here in the US and other countries. They also face the same headwinds as other “alternative” food products, including scaling up production and getting costs down. Then there is the toughest hurdle of all – convincing consumers to eat food made from air. These kinds of novel food “alternatives” haven’t had much widespread appeal so far – including fake meat – but every new company always thinks they’ve found the winning formula, so time will tell… (Sources: Bloomberg, Chowhound, Smithsonian Magazine, Wyss Institute)

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