Arzeda, The Protein Design Company™, has been awarded a substantial grant totaling approximately $7.8 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Ideas Lab: Advancing Cell-Free Systems Toward Increased Range of Use-Inspired Applications (NSF CFIRE) initiative. This funding will support the development of electricity-powered enzyme cascades designed to enhance sustainable chemical production through Arzeda's Intelligent Protein Design Technology™. This initiative builds on Arzeda's recent NSF USPRD selection, furthering advancements in AI-designed enzymes and cell-free manufacturing.

"Electricity-driven biology unlocks a new manufacturing paradigm," said Alexandre Zanghellini, Ph.D., cofounder and CEO of Arzeda and Principal Investigator on the award. "With AI-designed enzymes that run directly on electrons, we can bypass many limitations of living cells and build cleaner, more efficient routes for difficult-to-synthesize critical chemicals like methanol."

The project aims to achieve high efficiency by designing AI-powered enzymes and cascades that target over 70% energy efficiency, addressing the more than 50% energy losses commonly encountered in traditional chemical electrocatalysis. Additionally, the initiative focuses on converting waste CO₂ into methanol, a vital fuel and chemical feedstock.

Under the award, Arzeda will spearhead a collaborative consortium that includes the Missouri University of Science and Technology and Novonesis A/S [OTC: NVZMY], a recognized leader in industrial enzyme manufacturing. This multidisciplinary team will merge AI enzyme design, synthetic chemistry, and electrochemical engineering to promote the industrial adoption of cell-free bioelectrodes.

Research reported in this release is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation: NSF CFIRE award #2453663. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.

About Arzeda: Arzeda is dedicated to developing innovative products through its Intelligent Protein Design Technology™, leveraging generative AI-driven design to create, validate, and manufacture new proteins and enzymes that aim to enhance lives and protect the planet. The company collaborates with Fortune 500 partners across various industries to provide higher-performing, more cost-effective, and sustainable solutions. For more information, please visit www.arzeda.com.