Solar Biotech
Solar Biotech is a Virginia-based synthetic biology CDMO providing end-to-end bioprocess development, scale-up, and contract manufacturing from 6L to 10,000L fermentation across multiple host organisms, serving food, cosmetics, nutraceutical, and industrial customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersNorton, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Solar Biotech does
Solar Biotech is a synthetic biology contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) founded in 2019, headquartered in Norton, Virginia, and operating through its legal entity Solar Bioprocessing, LLC. The company provides end-to-end bioprocess development, scale-up, and manufacturing services to synthetic biology companies that need to translate lab-scale strain and process work into commercial production. Its integrated offering, marketed as "Synbio Hyperintegration," combines upstream fermentation processing (USP) with downstream processing (DSP) and spans fermentation scales from 6L bench through 125L, 500L, 4,000L, and 10,000L commercial-scale vessels, supported by homogenizers, disc stack centrifuges, MF/UF filtration, and freeze and drum drying on an 18-acre site. Process capabilities extend across at least five industrially relevant host systems: Pichia pastoris, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, filamentous fungi (including the Dyadic C1 expression system), Escherichia coli, and microalgae.
Commercial activity has spanned at least 30 customers across food and beverages, cosmetics, human health and nutraceuticals, agricultural chemicals, and industrial chemicals, producing enzymes, recombinant proteins, specialty oils, cannabinoids and related compounds, carotenoids, yeast biomass, and biopolymers. Revenue is generated on a professional services basis under multi-year, project-based contracts with custom quotations; the company runs a direct enterprise field sales motion, with prospective customers submitting project inquiries through the website. In July 2023, Solar Biotech acquired Noblegen Inc. (Peterborough, Ontario), which now operates as Solar Biotech Canada and extends the company's footprint into Canada with food-grade sustainable ingredient manufacturing. Solar Biotech's disclosed capital history includes a 2021 SEC Form D offering of up to $4 million (of which $2 million was sold at filing) and a 2022 strategic investment from Ingredion Inc. to expand SynBio capabilities and Norton facility capacity. In July 2024, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is seeking a strategic buyer for its operating assets, with an initial bid of $15.7 million for certain assets.
Solar Biotech firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Solar Biotech
- Legal name
- Solar Bioprocessing, LLC
- Website
- https://solarbiotech.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Solar Biotech is a Virginia-based synthetic biology CDMO providing end-to-end bioprocess development, scale-up, and contract manufacturing from 6L to 10,000L fermentation across multiple host organisms, serving food, cosmetics, nutraceutical, and industrial customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Solar Biotech industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Contract Biomanufacturing (CDMO) Services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Biologics (mAbs/Recombinant Proteins) CDMO (HLAGABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Process Development & Tech Transfer Services (upstream/downstream) (HLAAAKAF), Bioprocess Development & Scale-Up/Scale-Down Platforms (DoE, high-throughput, modeling) (HLAAAJAF)
Keywords
Where Solar Biotech is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Norton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Solar Biotech business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Bioprocessing and Manufacturing Services: Solar Biotech provides contract bioprocessing services for synthetic biology product development and commercialization. Services include process development, scale-up, fermentation, and downstream processing for customers across multiple market segments including food-grade enzymes, specialty oils, cannabinoids, carotenoids, and industrial enzymes.
- Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) Services: The company operates as a CDMO offering bioprocess development and manufacturing services to synthetic biology companies needing scale-up, process optimization, and production of developmental and commercial quantities. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts and manufacturing campaigns.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project-based custom pricing based on customer requirements |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Solar Biotech product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Solar Biotech operates as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for synthetic biology companies, providing end-to-end bioprocess development, fermentation scale-up, and commercial manufacturing services. Its Synbio Hyperintegration platform combines upstream fermentation (6L to 10,000L scale) with full downstream processing under one roof at its 18-acre Norton, Virginia facility. Services span process development, scale-up, and production of enzymes, proteins, specialty oils, cannabinoids, carotenoids, nutraceuticals, and biopolymers across food, cosmetics, nutraceutical, agricultural, and industrial chemical segments.
Product overview
Solar Biotech operates as a unified SynBio biomanufacturing platform called 'Synbio Hyperintegration,' providing end-to-end services from organism development through commercial-scale production. The platform is supported by five interconnected service modules: Upstream Fermentation Processing (USP), Downstream Processing (DSP), Scale-Up and Process Development, and Commercial Manufacturing capabilities spanning 6L to 10,000L fermentation scales. The company also acquired Noblegen in July 2023 (now operating as Solar Biotech Canada), bringing proprietary fermentation technology for sustainable ingredient production. The platform serves diverse market segments including food and beverages, cosmetics, human health and nutraceuticals, agricultural chemicals, and industrial chemicals, producing enzymes, proteins, natural products, fats and oils, and biopolymers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Upstream Fermentation Processing (USP) Services
Quantifiable outcome
- 10+ products shipped to customers
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Solar Biotech
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Solar Biotech technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Solar Biotech partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Noblegen Inc. (Acquired)coreSolar Biotech acquired Noblegen, a Canadian advanced digital biology company based in Ontario, which now operates as Solar Biotech Canada. The acquisition expanded biomanufacturing capacity and expertise in sustainable solutions for diverse microbial applications. Noblegen's proprietary fermentation technology for producing sustainable ingredients was integrated into Solar Biotech's platform. The deal involved Noblegen's transition from water purification to food product biomanufacturing.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Solar Biotech competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Culture Biosciences: Culture Biosciences offers fermentation process development and manufacturing services for synthetic biology companies, directly overlapping Solar Biotech's core CDMO offering across bench to pilot-scale bioreactors.
- Conagen: Conagen is a synthetic biology CDMO focused on strain engineering and fermentation scale-up for food, beauty, and pharma ingredients—closely comparable to Solar Biotech's USP/DSP services and overlapping with Solar Biotech's management team pedigree.
- Codexis: Codexis is an enzyme engineering and biocatalysis CDMO serving pharmaceutical and industrial customers with proprietary protein platforms, competing directly with Solar Biotech in industrial enzyme process development and manufacturing.
Broad incumbents
- Novozymes (Novonesis): Novonesis (formerly Novozymes) is a global enzyme and microbial protein manufacturer and a frequent source of Solar Biotech's leadership talent, operating at vastly larger scale across overlapping end markets.
- WuXi Biologics: WuXi Biologics is a global contract biologics manufacturer with microbial fermentation capabilities at scale, representing a much larger alternative for customers evaluating CDMO partners in the same segment.
- Ginkgo Bioworks: Ginkgo Bioworks is a synthetic biology platform company offering cell engineering and bioprocess services to customers across food, industrial, and pharma—competing for the same scale-up demand that Solar Biotech addresses.
- AGC Biologics: AGC Biologics is a large-scale biologics CDMO offering microbial and mammalian fermentation, competing with Solar Biotech in recombinant protein manufacturing and process development services.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (CDMO services): Thermo Fisher operates one of the largest CDMO networks globally, including microbial fermentation services, and is a common alumni source for Solar Biotech's commercial team—making it a broad incumbent competitor.
Emerging players
- Bota Bio: Bota Bio is an emerging synbio CDMO combining strain engineering with fermentation manufacturing for sustainable ingredients, targeting similar customer segments (food, personal care, industrial) as Solar Biotech.
- Dyadic International: Dyadic International develops the C1 filamentous fungal expression platform—one of Solar Biotech's named host systems—making it both a potential technology licensor and a peer in industrial biotech manufacturing services.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Solar Biotech social profiles
Digital presenceSolar Biotech financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Solar Biotech leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Solar Biotech subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Solar Biotech funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Solar Biotech M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Solar Biotech
What does Solar Biotech do?
Solar Biotech operates as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for synthetic biology companies, providing end-to-end bioprocess development, fermentation scale-up, and commercial manufacturing services. Its Synbio Hyperintegration platform combines upstream fermentation (6L to 10,000L scale) with full downstream processing under one roof at its 18-acre Norton, Virginia facility. Services span process development, scale-up, and production of enzymes, proteins, specialty oils, cannabinoids, carotenoids, nutraceuticals, and biopolymers across food, cosmetics, nutraceutical, agricultural, and industrial chemical segments.
Is Solar Biotech a public or private company?
Solar Biotech is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Solar Biotech founded?
Solar Biotech was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Solar Biotech based?
Solar Biotech is headquartered in Norton, United States, in the North America region.
How does Solar Biotech make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Bioprocessing and Manufacturing Services are the primary driver. The others are contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) Services.
Who are Solar Biotech's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Culture Biosciences, Conagen and Codexis. Broad incumbents are Novozymes (Novonesis), WuXi Biologics, Ginkgo Bioworks, AGC Biologics and Thermo Fisher Scientific (CDMO services). Emerging players are Bota Bio and Dyadic International.
Does Solar Biotech have an API?
No public API is recorded for Solar Biotech.
What industry is Solar Biotech in?
Solar Biotech's product category is Contract Biomanufacturing (CDMO) Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGABAC, Biologics (mAbs/Recombinant Proteins) CDMO, with a secondary code of HLAAAKAF, Process Development & Tech Transfer Services (upstream/downstream). Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.