Ensovi Leverages Ginkgo Enzyme Services to Optimize Cell-Free Carbon Fixation Process for Biomanufacturing

BOSTON, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ensovi Inc., which has invented an efficient, cell-free biomanufacturing platform that transforms waste CO₂ to organic chemicals, today announced a new partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity. Ensovi will leverage Ginkgo Enzyme Services to help optimize its platform for the cell-free transformation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into Acetyl-CoA, which can then be converted into many other products, such as precursors to flavorings, supplements, pharmaceuticals or even fuels, using Ensovi's end-to-end, cell-free biosynthesis approach. Under the terms of the agreement, Ginkgo will support the discovery and development of enzymes needed to bring Ensovi's cell-free biomanufacturing platform to market.

Companies in the chemical industry are searching for more sustainable, yet cost-competitive, manufacturing alternatives to decarbonize supply chains. The ability to use CO₂ as a feedstock can enable carbon-neutral or -negative manufacturing processes with reduced feedstock costs and risks, as well as provide better alternatives for companies that have costly CO₂ waste streams.

Ensovi's highly efficient and scalable systems for recycling enzyme cofactors deliver the biochemical energy essential for biomanufacturing organic chemicals from CO₂ at a competitive cost. By partnering with Ginkgo to discover and design bioengineered market-ready enzymes, Ensovi anticipates being able to extend its cell-free biomanufacturing system broadly into fine and commodity chemical manufacturing.

"We believe our modular cell-free system holds powerful potential to economically transform CO₂ – the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities – into so many different useful materials," said Richard Harrison, co-founder and CEO of Ensovi. "Our collaboration will draw on Ginkgo's extensive enzyme discovery and design capabilities, allowing us to accelerate our continuous process of pathway discovery and enzyme optimization to further reduce costs and expand our supported product portfolio."

Ginkgo Enzyme Services offers partners end-to-end support for the discovery, engineering, optimization, and scale-up of enzymes for diverse applications. Through the partnership, Ginkgo will leverage its suite of services, including metagenomic enzyme discovery, as well as enzyme optimization for function and stability to support Ensovi's applications.

"Ensovi's cell-free biomanufacturing system is a pioneering solution for the chemical industry and beyond," said Kevin Madden, Senior Vice President of Commercialization at Ginkgo Bioworks. "We're eager to leverage our synthetic biology platform and advanced enzyme discovery and development capabilities to enable Ensovi to optimize and extend the cell-free transformation of CO₂ into sustainably produced products."

To learn more about Ginkgo Enzyme Services, please visit ginkgobioworks.com/enzyme-services/.

About Ginkgo Bioworks

Ginkgo Bioworks is the leading horizontal platform for cell programming, providing flexible, end-to-end services that solve challenges for organizations across diverse markets, from food and agriculture to pharmaceuticals to industrial and specialty chemicals. Ginkgo's biosecurity and public health unit, Concentric by Ginkgo, is building global infrastructure for biosecurity to empower governments, communities, and public health leaders to prevent, detect and respond to a wide variety of biological threats. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com and concentricbyginkgo.com, read our blog, or follow us on social media channels such as X (formerly known as Twitter) (@Ginkgo and @ConcentricByGBW), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks and @ConcentricByGinkgo), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks) or LinkedIn.

About Ensovi: Delivering a More Sustainable Future
Ensovi's platform transforms waste CO₂ to organic chemicals. Incorporating an innovative, highly efficient biochemical energy regeneration system, and advanced synthetic biology and bioengineering expertise, Ensovi's cell-free platform produces fine and commodity chemicals from CO₂, light and water. Ensovi offers chemical manufacturers an alternative, modular approach to biomanufacturing that conserves capital, carries less feedstock risk and is unconstrained by process inefficiencies associated with current fermentation-based manufacturing methods. For companies generating industrial process CO2, Ensovi offers a viable alternative to costly sequestration options. 

Forward-Looking Statements of Ginkgo Bioworks

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding the capabilities and potential success of the partnership and Ginkgo's cell programming platform. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "can," "project," "potential," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) volatility in the price of Ginkgo's securities due to a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive and highly regulated industries in which Ginkgo operates and plans to operate, variations in performance across competitors, and changes in laws and regulations affecting Ginkgo's business, (ii) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and to identify and realize additional business opportunities, (iii) the risk of downturns in demand for products using synthetic biology, (iv) the uncertainty regarding the demand for passive monitoring programs and biosecurity services, (v) changes to the biosecurity industry, including due to advancements in technology, emerging competition and evolution in industry demands, standards and regulations, (vi) our ability to realize the expected benefits of merger and acquisition transactions, (vii) the outcome of any legal proceedings against Ginkgo, including as a result of recent acquisitions, (viii) our ability to realize the expected benefits from and the success of our Foundry platform programs, (ix) our ability to successfully develop engineered cells, bioprocesses, data packages or other deliverables, and (x) the product development or commercialization success of our customers. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of Ginkgo's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on August 9, 2023 and other documents filed by Ginkgo from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Ginkgo assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Ginkgo does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

ENSOVI, INC. CONTACT:
info@ensovi.com 

GINKGO BIOWORKS INVESTOR CONTACT:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com 

GINKGO BIOWORKS MEDIA CONTACT:
press@ginkgobioworks.com 

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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks