Value proposition

Building a biological platform to produce low-cost, sustainable omega-3 for aquaculture. Powered by Synthetic Biology.

Powered by Synthetic Biology, Synthesea is developing synthesis technology that is transferable to a wide range of lipids (AKA fats).

And we're starting with omega-3.

Omega-3 oil is a necessity for fish to grow nutritiously and is naturally found in algae, which wild fish eat. Fish grown in aquaculture (farms for fish livestock) cannot eat algae due to scaling limitations. Therefore, the current solution is to feed wild-caught fishmeal (crushed fish) to aquaculture fish. This rapidly depletes wild fish stocks and is continuously increasing the cost of omega-3 oil for aquaculture farmers.

We're using Synthetic Biology to engineer bacteria that efficiently produce cheap omega-3 oil from a plentiful precursor product. This drastically lowers costs for aquaculture farmers.

As an additional benefit, no wild fish stocks are used or harmed during this process, meaning our omega-3 oil is ecologically sustainable and ethical.

The Synthesea wound down its work at the end of 2021, and the team dissolved the company to work on other things. For more information on what Synthesea was about before it closed, you can check out our TFF entry here: https://thoughtforfood.org/synthesea/

aquafarming, aquaculture, genetics, synthetic biology, and lipid synthesis