Allonnia, a new company spun off of the synthetic biology giant Ginkgo Bioworks, just announced a $20 million investment from Evok Innovations’ clean technology fund. Allonnia creates new technologies that bolster how natural biological processes clean waste. This process, known as bioremediation, offers the possibility of cleaning some of the world’s most polluted sites using the power of nature. Their methods are clearly promising – this new round of funding brings Allonnia’s total financing to $60 million. As a part of the new round of funding, Allonnia will acquire Metabolik Technologies from Evok. Metabolik uses similar techniques for the bioremediation of pollutants.
This funding will be used to further develop promising new bioremediation processes. Allonnia is focused on identifying microbes that break down waste. Allonnia then uses synthetic biology to amplify those natural abilities, allowing the microbes to clean up toxic pollution while binding valuable materials for reuse. Bioremediation has been notably effective in cleaning up concentrated, hard-to-treat waste generated during mining and energy projects, including oil sands pollution in Canada.
“The [Evok] investment is a great fit for Allonnia because we’re working on very similar areas in terms of our mission on bioremediation,” said Allonnia CEO Nicole Richards. “The waste problem is vast and growing and impacts the health of our planet and everyone. Luckily, nature already uses microbes to break down waste. Allonnia will be accelerating and scaling natural processes to develop new breakthroughs and increase the efficiency of waste remediation.”
The Allonnia-Evok teamwork is a shining example of a new project focusing on green innovation to build back America’s economic and environmental health, setting the stage for a clean, sustainable future. This type of partnership has the potential to change the current trajectory of waste management.
“Partnering with Allonnia will allow us to build on the great work of Metabolik and others in the space to raise biological innovations in waste remediation to new heights,” said Evok CEO Marty Reed. “There is a significant opportunity to change [things for the better] and we’re proud to support this mission toward realizing a cleaner future.”
“Allonnia launched with a mission to develop, accelerate and apply biological treatments to solve some of the greatest environmental challenges on the planet in entirely new ways,” Richards added. “With this strategic investment from Evok, we will expand that focus to include restoring the environment and preserving natural ecosystems. We are excited to continue the development of transformational biological solutions to help resolve this long-standing industry challenge.”As a part of the expansion, Allonnia also announced the addition of Dr. Kent Sorenson as Chief Technology Officer. Sorenson is an internationally recognized expert in groundwater treatment and a cutting-edge expert in bioremediation. He will be a key part of the company’s goal to create the next generation of enzymes, proteins, and microbes that degrade or metabolize contaminants to transform water and wastewater treatment, soil redemption, and solid waste management – making the planet safer and cleaner for all through bioremediation.
