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In new research funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the NSF, electrochemical engineers at Lectrolyst and Washington University in St. Louis team up with plant scientists at the University of California-Riverside to evaluate the potential of electro-agriculture.

Electro-agriculture combines Lectrolyst’s innovative core technology for electrochemical CO₂ conversion to acetate with biological systems to produce food more efficiently than traditional photosynthesis. Until now, many of the benefits of this system have not been examined in detail. 

“For millennia, humanity has been at the mercy of relying on inefficient photosynthesis for food which has led to half of all habitable land being used for agriculture,” says Bradie S. Crandall, Ph.D., lead author of the paper. “Electro-agriculture offers an overdue reimagining of our food system and companies like Lectrolyst are leading the charge.”   

Previous work by the authors has demonstrated that electro-agriculture can offer up to a four-fold improvement in efficiency over photosynthesis. This new perspective reveals a pathway to achieve a staggering 10-fold improvement in efficiency by harnessing advanced photovoltaics, electrolyzers, and cutting-edge genetic engineering technology.

Imagining a world where all food in the U.S. was produced using electro-agriculture, this work found an astonishing 88% decrease in agricultural land usage could be achieved, liberating nearly half of the country for ecosystem restoration efforts. Compared to traditional photosynthetic farming, electro-agriculture also promises a 95% reduction in water usage, a 60% reduction in fertilizer consumption, and the elimination of pesticides. Remarkably, a sustainable food system based on electro-agriculture could be achieved without a substantial shift in consumer behavior. The ability to produce both plant cops and precision fermentation protein that is bio-identical to animal protein means that people could continue enjoying all the food they love. 

Crandall et al. also highlights potential economic benefits. “By streamlining supply chains and leveraging affordable renewable electricity, I’m optimistic that electro-agriculture can help reduce and stabilize food prices, especially for high-value crops and proteins,” said Dr. Crandall. In previous research, the authors have shown that using acetate as a feedstock for fermented protein production could lower protein production costs compared to traditional sugar feedstocks. Lectrolyst is a key member of a $28 million Acetate Consortium funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation dedicated to commercializing the production of protein via electro-agriculture.

While achieving profitable large-scale deployment takes time, this work points out that electro-agriculture is already useful today in extreme environments where photosynthesis struggles—think barren arid deserts, bustling urban cities, or even deep space. In an astonishing milestone, authors of this work recently formed Team Nolux (Latin for “no light”) to showcase the very first electro-agriculture prototype which placed in the top three out of over 200 teams in the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge. This development underscores the immense promise of electro-agriculture to revolutionize food production in even the most challenging conditions.

Lectrolyst is at the forefront of the electro-agriculture revolution, radically reconceiving our global food system to tackle two of the most urgent challenges: world hunger and climate change. This exciting new publication demonstrates that the future of food has arrived, and it’s electrifying! 

Want to Get Involved?

Lectrolyst is actively pursuing lead investors for an upcoming $2 million pre-seed VC fundraising round. We are also exploring new partnership opportunities to accelerate our growth and innovation. If you’re interested in joining us on this exciting journey, please reach out to Dr. Greg Hutchings at [email protected]. For more information on our groundbreaking work, visit us at www.lectrolyst.com.