Second phase of ClimateCow receives BMBF funding
Methane emissions from ruminants contribute significantly to global warming. In comparison, global cattle farming causes annual methane emissions with a climate impact equivalent to the total greenhouse gas emissions of the USA in the same period. Effective methods for reducing methane emissions from livestock farming can therefore make a significant contribution to curbing global warming.
Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) are working on a new type of feed additive that aims to reduce climate-damaging methane emissions from livestock farming. The project has already received 78,000 euros in funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the exploratory phase from October 2022 to September 2023 as part of the “New Products for the Bioeconomy” ideas competition.
The aim of the project team is to develop a new type of feed additive from various active ingredients that reduces methane production where it occurs: in the cattle’s forestomach, in the rumen. “Methane is produced in the rumen by microbes. These are mostly archaea, primordial cells that colonise the cattle stomach in large numbers and have the ability to synthesise methane from the degradation products of complex plant carbohydrates,” explains project leader Benedikt Sabass from LMU. The tests were carried out on real cattle rumen, but away from the animals. Glass flasks filled with rumen fluid served as bioreactors, which were placed in a heat bath and regularly supplied with nutrients in a hermetically sealed, controlled atmosphere. “Using this rumen simulation, we were able to use gene sequencing to determine which microorganisms grow stronger or weaker and what influence the additives have. Using infrared spectroscopy, we were able to measure which gases were released and whether methane production was increasing or decreasing.”
As part of the bioeconomy strategy “Next Generation of Biotechnological Processes — Biotechnology 2020+”, which focuses on the development of bioeconomic solutions for the sustainability agenda, a product idea for the livestock sector is now being pursued in the ClimateCow exploratory phase. The aim is to develop a new type of feed additive based on combinations of active ingredients that have already been established in the aforementioned preliminary trials. The regular administration of the feed additive reduces methane production in the cattle rumen and at the same time increases digestive efficiency, so that the animals have to consume less feed for the same performance. This provides an economic incentive for the use of the feed additive.
The three-year feasibility phase has started and is being funded by the BMBF with a further 683,000 euros. The aim now is to further develop the tested substances and improve their efficacy and tolerability so that the requirements for successful use in animal husbandry are met. “A residue analysis is also planned to show that the additives are quickly broken down in cattle and of course do not impair the quality of products such as milk,” explains Sabass.