Novozymes has launched its next yeast technology, Innova Fit. Fit is the most advanced non-GM yeast in the market, eliminating production constraints caused by conventional and basic yeasts, according to the company.

Conventional yeasts often cause plants to struggle with the rigors of today’s fermentation challenges and production demands – and producers are left without choices and hands are tied. Our goal is to advance the entire industry through our microbial expertise; Innova Fit overcomes the major challenge of advancing and debottlenecking fermentation.

—Brian Brazeau, Novozymes’ Vice President, Bioenergy Commercial, and President, North America

Fit provides ethanol plants with flexibility to achieve operational targets, while improving performance with enhanced reliability. The advanced Innova yeast allows producers to maximize inputs, achieve throughput, and production targets, without losing ethanol yield to common stressors such as high temperature. Moreover, Fit enables plants to improve throughput and plant efficiency significantly.

Features include:

• Powers through high temperature excursions without sacrificing yield: Higher yields during fermentation temperature excursions, up to 36⁰C/96⁰F, reducing variability and process upsets.

• Expands throughput by fermenting high dry solids: Developed to withstand the rigors of hard running plants, Innova Fit can ferment up to 36% dry solids while tolerating high ethanol titers in fermentation.

• Increases ethanol yield up to 2%: Operating in a wide variety of fermentation times, Innova Fit excels in fermentations between 55 and 65 hours. As a drop-in solution, Fit converts more sugar to ethanol versus other non-GM yeasts to improve plant profitability.

• May reduce need for yeast nutritional supplements: While many yeasts use urea and yeast food to support fermentation, Innova Fit could significantly reduce these costly inputs.

Since 2018, Novozymes has released four yeast solutions as part of its Innova platform.

Novozymes’ approach is through holistic yeast and enzymatic optimization. Yeast developed to excel through tough operating conditions enables producers to free up energy for optimal performance, while reducing costly variability. Paired with novel starch and glucose conversion solutions, plants maximize production and increase ethanol, by reducing residual starch by up to 25% and lowering expensive inputs.

Looking ahead, Novozymes wants to deliver solutions customers need to reach their unique targets—such as starch, fiber, corn oil, protein, unique end markets and future biorefinery opportunities. The company seeks to illuminate and understand production challenges and needs that can be overcome with the power of biological solutions for sustainable, profitable production.

Yeast and its development are a strategic growth area where Novozymes will continue working with innovation partners in the industry. Its Innova yeast products are the result of a dedicated development partnership with Microbiogen to bring new yeast technology to the market.

Based in Australia, Microbiogen is an industrial biotechnology company specializing in the development of improved, industrial yeast strains.