Australian climate technology company, Rumin8, is accelerating its commercialisation progress in New Zealand, garnering $4.4 million (US$3 million) in investment as the company prepares to enter the final trial process for registration of its methane abating feed additives for cattle.
Rumin8’s formulation uses the organic active compound Tribromomethane (TBM), initially derived from Asparagopsis, a red macroalgae. The company has also developed a scalable and cost effective pharmaceutical grade manufacturing process to synthesise and stabilise the anti-methanogenic compound.
There are several Australian companies tackling methane reduction with Asparagopsis, with Tasmanian-based Sea Forest achieving commercialisation in 2023 and completing a $20.5 million IPO in 2025, and Provectus Algae receiving a $4 million Industry Growth Program grant last August to construct a new Asparagopsis production facility.
Rumin8 achieved provisional registration from the New Zealand Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) in July 2024, to enable efficacy and safety studies to be conducted in commercial animals to generate the data for final approval in New Zealand.
New Zealand public-private partnership, AgriZeroNZ, has committed US$3 million in funding to Rumin8, adding to a stable of commercial partnerships with companies including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Preluded Ventures, Aware Super, Harvest Road, Starshot Capital, Just Climate and Conscience Bay Company.
Rumin8 CEO and co-founder, David Messina, said part of the company’s growth strategy was to align with commercial partners in key target markets.
“AgriZeroNZ is committed to helping farmers in New Zealand reduce emissions without compromising profitability and productivity. This is exactly how Rumin8 is developing its commercial model, so AgriZeroNZ is such a natural fit,” said Messina.
“We are both acutely aware that if we are to increase uptake of methane abating products in the agriculture sector, those products need to stack-up commercially. That’s why the productivity gains and safety profile we are achieving while also reducing methane emissions are so important.”
The company will shortly commence pivotal trials in New Zealand. In addition to providing definitive safety and efficacy results across a large commercial-sized trial, the pivotal trial also defines the instructions and dosage on the final product label if the product achieves commercial registration.
“We are planning to have first commercial sales in New Zealand in 2027, and AgriZeroNZ’s commitment is an important step to achieve that milestone,” said Messina.
“Rumin8’s technology reproduces the naturally occurring compound found in asparagopsis with precision and consistency, while providing a low cost, scalable, manufacturing process.”
