Daisy Lab are creating dairy identical proteins without the cows, using precision fermentation technology. These proteins can be used in the production of traditional dairy products like yoghurts and ice-creams. The final products are suitable for vegans, but their market is any traditional dairy consumer. The Westpac NZ Government Innovation funding will allow Daisy Lab to extend their research by adding additional species and proteins, as well as an additional team member to their R&D team. It will also help purchase the necessary reagents and equipment, increasing their chances of success in carrying their research through to lab-scale fermentation, in-turn contributing to the decarbonisation of Aotearoa.

Seagrasses, flowering plants that live in shallow coastal waters, have huge potential as a tool to fight climate change. Overseas, they have been shown capture carbon up to 27 times faster than temperate forests and are estimated to absorb 10% of the ocean’s carbon each year, despite covering less than 0.2% of the seafloor. Unfortunately, seagrass meadows are being lost at an alarming rate worldwide. Restoring these meadows will greatly increase the carbon storage potential of our oceans, helping to mitigate climate change. However, we currently lack knowledge on how to restore these habitats using seeds in Aotearoa. Cawthron’s solution is to conduct the necessary research to develop a blueprint for seed-based seagrass restoration. This blueprint will provide community groups, councils, iwi and others with a step-by-step guide to restore seagrass meadows across Aotearoa.

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council is developing a digital rating tool and supporting materials calculator, tailored to the NZ market to support decarbonisation of infrastructure in NZ. The funding will help bring this tool to market faster and make it more accessible, scalable, and cost effective. The funding will also be used to ensure appropriate capability building to achieve wide scale adoption of the product and broader acceptance and the support to change the hearts and minds in this critical sector.