A substantial amount of energy and dedication is allocated to diminishing carbon emissions in the battle against global warming, but methane, while less prevalent, is more harmful to the planet. It is vastly more effective than carbon at imprisoning heat. Eliminating it is crucial to achieving global climate objectives.

Methane is released from various sources such as agriculture, landfills, and oil production. While certain companies are striving to lessen methane emissions, others are working on capturing and eliminating it as it is generated. An emerging startup based in California known as Windfall Bio has devised a method that may seem slightly unpleasant but holds the potential to spearhead the effort in purifying the atmosphere of methane.

Windfall employs “mems” — methane-consuming microorganisms. These naturally existing minuscule organisms reside in the soil and consume methane as sustenance for their survival. Similar to yeast that consumes sugar in bread and generates substances that cause it to expand, mems consume methane and produce fertilizer. They are commonly present in soils and wetlands where decomposing organic matter is found alongside abundant methane. Nevertheless, mems will consume methane wherever it is present. This is where Windfall plays a crucial role.

“We supply those packets of mems, and then individuals with access to methane can themselves capture the methane, convert it into fertilizer, and derive value from it,” explained Josh Silverman, CEO of Windfall Bio.

“Our clientele includes farmers, as well as dairy farmers who have access to cows [consider cow emissions], and need to produce fertilizer autonomously. However, we also collaborate with individuals in the oil and gas sector who have surplus methane from their daily operations. We can cooperate with landfills and waste management.”

If a farmer is utilizing the mems, they can subsequently utilize the fertilizer themselves. In the case of an oil producer or landfill, Windfall will repurchase the fertilizer from them, thereby compensating them for capturing methane.

Conventional fertilizer production demands a substantial amount of energy and results in significant carbon emissions, particularly during the manufacture of ammonia-based fertilizer. The utilization of mems would signify a genuinely “clean” fertilizer.

Windfall conducted research on these microbes for ten years before introducing them to clients two years ago.

“I’ve genuinely been quite surprised by the level of demand,” stated Silverman. “It has surpassed our most optimistic projections, and we currently have customers on almost every continent, with more incoming interest than we can accommodate.”

While there is rivalry in the fertilizer sector, and alternative technologies are emerging for methane capture, the mem process seems to be exclusive to Windfall. Investors indicate they are not apprehensive about swift expansion.

“We have reviewed the data and are greatly encouraged by what we have observed thus far. We will continue to implement this through various trial runs across numerous industries moving forward,” affirmed Brett Morris, managing director at Cavallo Ventures, an investor in Windfall Bio. “As an early-stage enterprise at this phase, they do not possess all the answers but are diligently striving to meet the burgeoning global customer demand.”

Windfall Bio intends to initiate a trial initiative with dairy suppliers of Whole Foods Market. This initiative would help in reducing methane emissions and enable the grocery chain to make environmentally conscious assertions for their dairy products and other offerings.

Aside from Cavallo Ventures, Windfall is supported by Prelude Ventures, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Mayfield. The company has amassed $37 million in funding thus far.

Contributions to this article were made by environmentally conscious producer Lisa Rizzolo.