Summary

Hyfé is pioneering the bio-refining of food waste into alternative carbon sources, offering a circular solution to replace petroleum in producing chemicals, materials, and food. The company estimates that 26 billion kilograms of sugars are wasted in food manufacturing wastewater in the United States alone every year. Rather than treating this as a disposal problem, Hyfé partners with food and beverage processors to capture these nutrient-rich streams and convert them into feedstocks for biomanufacturers — at a fraction of the cost of conventional petroleum-based inputs. By channelling glucose streams into the bioeconomy, Hyfé is building a scalable foundation for domestic materials production that strengthens the food system and revitalises rural communities. The biomanufacturing sector it serves is estimated to grow to at least $4 trillion globally. (Source)

Story

Hyfé was co-founded by Michelle Ruiz, a chemical engineer with 10 years of manufacturing experience at ExxonMobil, and Andrea Schoen. Ruiz originally started the company after her mother was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Frustrated by how difficult it was to avoid refined carbohydrates in everyday food, she turned to bioengineering to find a solution that was good for both people and the planet. What began as a food health mission evolved into something far bigger: solving a fundamental bottleneck in the bioeconomy. Hyfé sees food manufacturing wastewater not as waste, but as wasted sugar-water — and its proprietary process transforms it into feedstock significantly cheaper than anything currently on the market. Backed by top food-tech investors and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Chain Reaction Innovations program at Argonne National Laboratory, the company is now scaling its operations to meet the rapidly growing demand for petroleum-free bio-based materials. (Source)

Pic credit: WorldBioMarket (right) and World Economic Forum (top)