Calysta has announced the company and two partners have been awarded the 2017 IChemE Global Team Award for excellence at Calysta’s UK production facility in Teesside.
The IChemE awards are given annually by the Institution of Chemical Engineers, and this year the competition attracted more than 140 entries from 21 countries.
Calysta, the Centre for Process Innovation, and Otto Simon Ltd. received the award for design, construction and successful launch of Calysta’s new market introduction facility in Teesside. The plant uses Calysta’s innovative gas-phase fermentation process to produce FeedKind® protein, a feed-quality protein for use in fish and livestock feed.
“IChemE’s Team Award is important because it celebrates collaboration and diversity of thinking – something that is integral to robust, sustainable outcomes that benefit society,\" stated John McGagh, IChemE’s president.
“Calysta UK, the Centre for Process Innovation and Otto Simon have proved this through their winning project. They have delivered a plant with environmental and ecological impact at the forefront of the planning process, and delivered a facility which will ultimately tackle one of the biggest issues facing the population – food security.”
“We want to congratulate the entire team at all three organizations for this significant honor,” said Graham Aylen, Calysta Vice President of Capital Projects. “Thanks to excellent engineering collaboration from the project team, the plant was delivered against a fast-tracked construction program with zero injuries. Samples have been distributed worldwide for feeding trials, marking a significant step towards engineering a sustainable food source for the growing global population.”
“Structuring the project team and the execution program to take us from a blank sheet of paper through the design stages to a detailed construction, commissioning and operational program were critical in enabling such a complex fast-track project to be successful,” said Kris Wadrop, Platform Director for the Industrial Biotechnology and Biorefining business in CPI. “Combining a motivated and passionate customer with a knowledgeable multi-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers proved an outstanding combination for this project.”
Peter Creer of Otto Simon Ltd said: “Otto Simon enjoyed a very effective collaboration with Calysta and CPI on the project, which was key to delivering this unique plant successfully and safely against a very tight deadline.
“It is rewarding to have been part of a project that has the potential to make such a major contribution to society, and we are delighted that our team’s achievements have been recognized with such a prestigious award.”
Calysta has put state of the art manufacturing and quality assurance processes in place at Teesside resulting from more than 10 years of research and development. In May, Calysta announced successful production of the first four metric tons of FeedKind protein from the facility, and to date the Teesside plant has produced over 10 metric tons.
The facility has recently completed a 12-week continuous run, and has performed to target metrics of yield, productivity and quality.
