ZETON DELIVERS ADVANCED GAS FERMENTATION PILOT PLANT TO CIRCE BIOSCIENCE

November 28, 2024

Circe, a Boston, MA-based spin-off from The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, first contacted Zeton in the summer of 2021 for the design and build of an advanced gas fermentation system. Tests at the laboratory scale had proven promising, and it was time to scale the technology to pilot scale as an important step towards commercialization.

Progressing through (Phase 1) Basic Engineering into (Phase 2) Detailed Design, Procurement, Fabrication and Factory Testing, a major challenge the Zeton and Circe engineering teams faced was how to precisely control the gas feeds into the fermentation vessel. The project teams, together with Dr. Mike Schultz, Managing Director of PTI Global Solutions, and safety consultants Baker Engineering and Risk Consultants, created the requisite engineering controls, process design changes, additional safety interlocks, and automated processes to drive the system in a safe and controlled manner.

The project, which was partly funded by a US DOE award through the ECOSynBio program, continued through 2022 and 2023, with final delivery in December 2023. Currently the project is undergoing start-up and commissioning at Circe’s state-of-the-art facility in Massachusetts, with ongoing support from Zeton.

“Navigating this project through several complex engineering challenges and then delivering the pilot plant to our customer’s new facility was a rewarding experience for the entire Zeton team. We would like to thank Circe for trusting Zeton to design and build their first gas fermentation pilot plant, and we are proud of what the project teams, working collaboratively, were able to accomplish.” – Nelson Carvalho, Senior Project Manager, Zeton Inc.

“Working with Zeton on this advanced gas fermentation pilot system has been a truly rewarding experience. Their expertise and collaborative spirit were instrumental in overcoming the technical challenges we faced as we’ve scaled up from lab to pilot scale. Zeton’s commitment to delivering a high-quality system and their continuous support throughout the process have made them an outstanding partner. We are excited to see this project come to life and look forward to demonstrating a revolutionary step forward in biomanufacturing.” – Ciaran Dunn, Vice President of Engineering, Circe