Turning Air Into Butter: Savor's Revolutionary Approach to Alternative Fats

What if the fat in your butter, cheese, or even burger could be made without animals, without plants, without fermentation, and without agriculture at all? That's exactly what Savor is doing. Using a groundbreaking process that transforms compounds like CO₂ and elements like hydrogen into rich, animal-free fats that can mimic what animal fat does, this California-based startup is rethinking how we produce and consume one of the most essential ingredients in food.

In this episode, I sit down with Kathleen Alexander, cofounder and CEO of Savor, to dive into the science behind their innovative fat production, why alternative fats could be the next big breakthrough in food tech, and how their approach could help fight climate change while making all types of foods, including plant-based meats and dairy, taste even better.

So far the company has raised more than $30 million in venture capital, including from Bill Gates, and is now gearing up to start selling its new fat in restaurants and bakeries within 2025.

Will humanity be able to divorce food production from agriculture? If Savor succeeds, that just might be the case.

Discussed in this episode

• Katheeen co-authored the paper Food Without Agriculture.

• Savor was incubated by Orca Sciences.

• Our past episode with Pivot Bio president Lisa Nunez Safarian.

• Kathleen and Paul both recommend Alchemy of Air and Not the End of the World.

• Kathleen recommends Long Life, Honey in the Heart.

• Smitsonian story on Savor's technology.

More about Kathleen Alexander

Kathleen Alexander has a strong background in materials science and engineering. She has worked in various roles, including as a CTO and CEO at Savor, a Project Director at Orca Sciences, and a Climate Solutions Consultant at KCA Research, Inc. Kathleen has a proven track record of designing and implementing innovative projects for climate solutions, with a focus on greenhouse gas reduction technologies. She has also conducted extensive research and modeling in the field of materials science, particularly in areas related to electrochemistry and battery performance. Kathleen's academic background includes a PhD in Materials Science & Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, further showcasing her expertise in the field.