NZ startup to turn global sugar industry on its head

Sugar cane fields burning before harvesting at Pinar del Rio, Cuba. (Image: Getty)

Mon, 10 Feb 2025

When SolarFerm plugs its ideas to investors, it doesn’t beat about the (sugar) bush.“What we pitched is this could be the largest food project on the planet,” founder Gabriel James said.The early-stage New Zealand startup has patented technology to produce sugars from natural light, bacteria and carbon dioxide through precision fermentation. They are far from the first people to try doing this, but James said SolarFerm had found a way to develop a commercially viable process.The next few months will determine if it’...

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