ArkeaBio is a Boston climate-biotech company building the first vaccine that cuts methane emissions from cattle. The shot trains a cow's immune system to produce antibodies that travel to the rumen and suppress methanogens - the microbes that turn digestion into greenhouse gas. Livestock methane accounts for roughly 6% of global emissions, and ArkeaBio's pitch is blunt: a vaccine is the lowest-cost, most scalable way to attack that number. Backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and a roster of climate and ag investors, the company is moving from animal studies into full field trials, targeting a 20% methane reduction and a first product in market around 2028.
Colin South is a New Zealand-born biotechnology executive and the founding leader of ArkeaBio, a Boston climate-tech company building the world's first vaccine to cut methane emissions from cattle. He grew up on a 1,000-head sheep farm, earned a PhD in bioprocess engineering from Dartmouth, and spent 25-plus years turning microbes into commercial products across the food, fuel, and energy industries. He launched ArkeaBio in 2021, ran it as CEO from January 2022, and in September 2025 stepped into the Chief Business Officer seat as the company brought in a new CEO and pushed toward field trials.