Dr Jason Wargent, BioLumic founder and Chief Science Officer, observing rice seedlings under UV light. (Image source: AgriZero)

Public-private partnership AgriZero has announced its investment of around US$3mn in agriculture biotechnology company, BioLumic to utilise ultraviolet (UV) light to develop a low emissions farm pasture with increased productivity gains 

AgriZero’s funding will enable BioLumic to apply its technology to ryegrass, the most common forage pasture on New Zealand farms. The goal is to increase fat content and subsequently reduce methane emissions from animals that consume it.

BioLumic’s founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr Jason Wargent said that the company was targeting wide scale use from 2027, with reduced regulatory barriers expected from the light treatment approach which will support a faster speed to market. Moreover, with this being AgriZero’s sixth major investment, McNee said the joint venture was aiming to have two to three emissions reduction tools in widespread use by 2030.

“Pasture is the foundation of the business for Kiwi farmers, so a pasture solution to curb methane and boost productivity will be an important option in their toolkit to reduce emissions,” said AgriZero chief executive, Wayne McNee. “BioLumic’s work is an exciting prospect to help secure the future of farming in New Zealand with the very thing that makes our agricultural sector unique and drives our competitive edge today - high quality grass.”

For more information, visit: https://www.agrizero.nz and https://www.biolumic.com

The researchers built a reaction chamber and devised a method that simulates and greatly accelerates methane's natural degradation process. (Image source: Michael Skov Jensen, SCIENCE/KU)

A recent study led by the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) atmospheric chemistry professor, Matthew Stanley Johnson brought to the spotlight, a new method devised by researchers to eradicate low-concentration methane from air

A new Methane Eradication Photochemical System (MEPS) reaction chamber, comprising an elongated metal box with heaps of hoses and measuring instruments, was built. Using chlorine and energy from light, researchers were successful in removing methane from air at a greater speed and efficiency compared to its natural decomposition rate in the atmosphere. Inside the box, a chain reaction of chemical compounds takes place, which breaks down the methane and removes a large portion of the gas from air.

"Methane decomposes at a snail's pace because the gas isn’t especially happy about reacting with other things in the atmosphere," explained Johnson. "However, we have discovered that, with the help of light and chlorine, we can trigger a reaction and break down the methane roughly 100 million times faster than in nature."

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has determined that reducing methane gas emissions—which are considered to be 85 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than CO2—will immediately reduce the rise in global temperatures. 

With the development of their new MEPS reaction chamber, the researchers plan to connect the device to the ventilation system in a livestock barn, where it will behave as a methane cleaner. A 40 ft shipping container will soon arrive at the Department of Chemistry and will become a larger prototype of the reaction chamber that the researchers built in the laboratory. The UCPH spin-out company Ambient Carbon, started and now headed by Johnson is currently developing the MEPS technology and plans to make it available to society in the near future. 

For more information, visit: https://science.ku.dk/

Tianlong solution for livestock disease detection. (Image source: Tianlong)

Tianlong Technology provides pioneering disease detection solutions, comprising a variety of instruments and matching reagents that allow for swift and reliable detection of African Swine Fever (ASF), Avian Influenza (AI) and foot and mouth disease, among others

Moosa Genetics presents biotech-enabled innovation in revolutionising cattle and beef breeding in Indonesia. (Image source: East Ventures)

Indonesia-based animal genomics and biotechnology startup, Moosa Genetics has announced that it had raised funding led by Southeast Asia-focused sector-agnostic venture capital firm, East Ventures