Bayer, Biotech Firm Aim To Develop More Sustainable Nitrogen For Agriculture

Chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer this week announced a partnership with a Boston biotechnology firm in hopes of reducing farmers' reliance on nitrogen fertilizer.

The German company and Ginkgo Bioworks, along with hedge fund Viking Global Investors, will initially invest $100 million in the effort, which aims to use synthetic biology to improve the ability of microbes to pair with plants to utilize nitrogen.

Nitrogen fertilizer is currently used by farmers around the world to grow their crops, most of which cannot pair with microbes on their own to consume the gas vital to plant growth. The fertilizer, however, can be costly and is a major source of water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

The new venture aims to develop microbes that pair with a wider range of crops aside from soybeans, peas and some other legumes.

"The more we can learn to work with the soil microbiome, the more we can discover new ways to add value to farmers and return to its biological, and more sustainable, roots,” Ginkgo CEO Jason Kelly said in a statement. "We’re thrilled to be working with Bayer to bring this transformational aspiration to life.”

The venture, the fifth investment made by the Bayer LifeScience Center, will be located both in Ginkgo's native Boston as well as in Sacramento, Calif., which is home to Bayer's plant biologic R&D activities.