The Big Tech chief is targeting big burps. Billionaire Bill Gates announced his latest investment in an Australian startup, Rumin8, which is working on reducing methane that cows produce in the form of burps, and even farts. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has also put money in.
The company, which received $12 million from Gates, is developing supplements containing “rangeland plants and red seaweed” that cows can consume to reduce methane, according to the website.
Nearly one-third of global methane emissions come from livestock, mostly from dairy cows. These hoofed animals let out nearly 220 pounds of greenhouse gas every year, which is comparable to burning over 900 gallons of gasoline, per Inside Climate News.
Instead of farming the seaweed, Rumin8 is producing the bioactive ingredient in the form of a capsule that reduces emissions from cows by 95%.
A spokesperson for Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Gate’s fund, told CNN that while cows contribute to significant emissions, “livestock agriculture remains one of the cheapest protein sources globally, which means technologies that can reduce emissions from the existing cattle supply chain today and in the future are critical.”
In an interview at the Lowy Institute, a think tank in Sydney, Australia, Gates said he is “very optimistic” about the future.
“I’m still very optimistic that it’d be much better to be born 20 years from now, 40 years from now, 60 years from now than any time in the past,” Gates said, per CNBC.
“The amount of innovation that is (for) the improvement overall in the human condition is still going to be dramatic. We will cure obesity, we will cure cancer, we will eradicate polio,” Gates said.