Queensland-developed technology targeting one of the global livestock industry's biggest challenges is set to accelerate towards commercialisation with backing from the QIC-managed Sowing the Seeds of Farming Innovation Fund.
Noosaville-based Provectus Algae has secured US$2 million (approximately A$2.8 million) from the Queensland Government fund as part of a US$4.3 million extension to its Series A financing, bringing the company's total Series A funding to more than US$14 million.
The Series A was led by US-based impact investor At One Ventures, with QIC joining as a new investor alongside continued support from existing shareholders.
Provectus has developed an integrated biomanufacturing platform combining its proprietary Precision Photosynthesis® technology with AI-enabled discovery capabilities to develop and produce high-value biological compounds across agriculture, specialty ingredients and crop protection.
Its lead product, Surf’N’Turf®, is a cattle feed additive designed to reduce methane emissions while improving feed efficiency and animal productivity, with commercial rollout progressing through Proteus Ag.
QIC Private Equity Partner Nicholas Guest said Provectus had the potential to translate Queensland-developed innovation into productivity benefits for producers and a significant global commercial opportunity.
Provectus is tackling a challenge that matters to cattle producers everywhere – showing that emissions reduction can go hand-in-hand with better producer returns.
Nicholas Guest - Partner, QIC Private Equity
“Surf’N’Turf ® has now been tested across almost 3,000 cattle in commercial feedlot and pastoral settings, delivering material methane reductions. The team has used those trials to refine the product and its manufacturing model, establishing a stronger foundation for commercial scale.
“If Provectus can consistently pair methane reductions with improved feed efficiency, it would give producers a direct incentive to adopt the technology and provide a pathway into a global cattle market of around 1.5 billion head.
“For Sowing the Seeds, Provectus brings together technology developed and manufactured in Queensland, a clear application to one of the state's most important primary industries, and the potential to build a globally relevant business from that foundation.”
Provectus Algae Founder and CEO Nusqe Spanton said the company was entering a new phase as its technology platform began delivering commercial applications.
Over the last few years, we have been building the technology platform, infrastructure and team required to turn biology into commercially relevant products. We are now seeing the results of that investment.
Nusqe Spanton - Founder & CEO, Provectus Algae
“Surf’N’Turf® has moved from something we believed could work into a product demonstrating meaningful results in thousands of animals under commercial conditions. We are now building the capability to supply it at scale through Proteus Ag.
“This extension gives us the capital to accelerate that transition. The next phase for Provectus is increasingly about converting the science and infrastructure we have built into products, customers and revenue.”
Provectus is scaling its Queensland manufacturing capacity to support supply to 250,000 cattle in 2027, while progressing commercial opportunities across feedlot, pastoral and dairy applications.
The company currently supports 25 Queensland jobs, with plans to grow its local workforce as it expands production and commercial operations.
The Sowing the Seeds of Farming Innovation Fund makes equity investments across multiple stages of business growth and is designed to help Australian innovations move beyond pilot projects into commercially scalable enterprises that deliver benefits across the Queensland agricultural value chain.
Businesses interested in exploring how the Fund can support their growth can provide information via the QIC website: qic.com/Sowing-the-Seeds.
Investing from seed to Series C, QIC Ventures has partnered with more than 90 world-class companies taking Australian innovation global since 2016, including Go1, Gilmour Space and VALD. It sits within the institutional QIC Private Equity platform, which manages A$10 billion globally in private equity assets from offices in the US, Europe and Australia.
Provectus Algae is an Australian biosolutions company developing and commercialising biological products. Through its proprietary Precision Photosynthesis® and AI-enabled discovery and biomanufacturing technologies, Provectus Algae has built an integrated platform capable of taking new biosolutions from discovery through development, scale-up and commercial production.
The company is developing a pipeline of products across animal agriculture, crop protection, human nutraceuticals and other high-value biological markets. Provectus Algae is headquartered in Noosaville, Queensland, Australia. To learn more, visit provectusalgae.com.