Western Australia climate technology company Rumin8 officially opened its manufacturing demonstration plant this week.
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It is a significant milestone for the company, which is on the pathway towards commercialisation of its affordable, methane-busting feed and water supplements for livestock.
Located in Perth, and officially opened by WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis, the demonstration plant has been constructed to provide proof of concept - technical, manufacturing and cost of production - to produce the various formulations of Rumin8's inaugural product.
"The demonstration plant will help Rumin8 overcome one of the biggest hurdles to commercialisation," said Rumin8 chief executive officer David Messina.
"We know our product works in terms of reducing methane emission from livestock while retaining or improving productivity.
"Now we need to refine the production of our formulations in a pharmaceutical manufacturing setting rather than a laboratory setting to demonstrate a range of outputs such as cost, product integrity, QA, etc.
"We have every confidence we can successfully achieve those goals using this demonstration plant."
The demonstration plant is a precursor to large scale production, including pilot plants and full-scale commercial operations.
Once operating at maximum design capacity, the demonstration plant is expected to produce thousands of doses a day, providing additives to support large-scale trials of Rumin8's product.
"In addition to our own staff, we have established partnerships with local laboratories (University of Western Australia and Murdoch University) to supplement on-site operations for the testing and validation of product made at the demonstration facility," Mr Messina said.
