Arkeon, Vienna-Based ‘Protein from Air’ Startup, Files for Insolvency Amid Gas Fermentation Challenges

By Agroempresario.com

Vienna-based gas fermentation startup Arkeon, a pioneer in producing sustainable protein from air, has filed for insolvency after raising over $13 million to develop its innovative technology. Founded in 2021 by Dr. Gregor Tegl, Dr. Simon Rittmann, and Dr. Günther Bochmann, Arkeon aimed to transform carbon dioxide and hydrogen into proteinogenic amino acids through gas fermentation, offering a promising alternative to traditional agriculture-dependent protein production.

Dr. Gregor Tegl, cofounder and CEO, shared his reflections on the company’s closure in a recent LinkedIn post: “While this is a difficult moment, I am incredibly grateful for everyone who believed in our vision for sustainable protein production via gas fermentation.” He added that the lessons learned about scaling technology, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory navigation will guide future endeavors, emphasizing the ongoing potential of sustainable biotechnologies despite setbacks.

Gas fermentation technology, known mainly for fuel and chemical production by companies like LanzaTech and Phase Biolabs, is increasingly explored as a platform for food and feed production by startups such as Calysta, Circe, Solmeyea, Air Protein, Solar Foods, Aerbio, Unibio, and Jooules. These companies leverage gases instead of purified sugars to feed microbes, reducing input costs and contamination risks, and enabling longer fermentation campaigns.

Arkeon’s pilot plant located in Vienna’s Seestadt Innovation Hub processed carbon dioxide and hydrogen by feeding archaea microbes that converted these gases into 20 proteinogenic amino acids secreted into the fermentation broth. Despite the promise, scaling the technology remains expensive and complex. The specialized bioreactors required for efficient gas-liquid mixing and the challenges of securing affordable green hydrogen sources add to capital costs and operational hurdles.

Dr. David Welch, cofounder and Chief Scientific Officer at Synthesis Capital—an early investor in Arkeon—acknowledged the setback but remained optimistic about the technology’s future: “We still believe in the potential of gas fermentation. Arkeon’s techno-economics and those of other companies demonstrate that it is a viable production method for the food industry at scale. However, building a successful business in this emerging sector requires more than promising technology, and some failures are inevitable.”

The insolvency filing underscores the high risks and capital demands faced by startups in the sustainable protein sector, even as global demand for alternative proteins grows amid environmental concerns. Arkeon’s journey reflects both the opportunities and challenges in decoupling food production from agricultural land through cutting-edge biotechnology.