Alexandre Chapeaux

July 2020 - March 2022

Director, Downstream Process

Bioprocess Development Accomplishments:

• Led fermentation optimization, boosting production by 60%
• Designed first crude lipid extraction process in under 6 months; then improved recovery by 10% while significantly reducing process inputs
• Reduced overall long-term COGS by 70%
• Developed lipid refining and modification processes

Scale-up and Manufacturing Accomplishments:

• Managed tech transfer from lab to pilot (200–1500 L) and manufacturing (50 kL) CMOs, ensuring consistent titer, rate, yield, and product recovery
• Oversaw $500K CMO facility retrofit, completed in 3 months
• Developed a model to calculate OPEX and GHG emissions, allowing process decisions to focus on both cost and sustainability
• Managed a $1.5M DoD project to design C16’s first large-scale manufacturing facility, aligning market needs with facility design
• Created and manage inventory tracking system and oversee product logistics
• Managed product analytics and oversaw QA/QC, including technical data sheets and certificates of analysis and other documentation meeting customer needs

Team and Organizational Accomplishments:

• Built and led high-performing teams, fostering collaboration and growth to meet company goals
• Cultivated a culture of innovation by promoting creative thinking and encouraging calculated risks in pursuit of solutions
• Optimized project timelines by effectively delegating tasks and prioritizing workload among team members

• Improved fermentation increasing strain productivity by over 50% and optimized raw material usage while maintaining yield and quality
• Led purification process improvements that reduced costs by 30% while enhancing scalability and improving production efficiency
• Created a scalable purification processes that met food sensory requirements, contributing to multiple patented methodologies
• Scaled production processes up to multiple 5 kL, and planned scale up to 35 kL, coordinating tech transfer to multiple CMOs to support production
• Built comprehensive techno-economic and COGS models for each protein, enabling targeted cost reductions and optimal CMO selection
• Managed FEL-1 level plant design and laid groundwork for FEL-2 design
• Developed high-performing team by providing mentorship, guidance, and opportunities for professional growth.

July 2016 - September 2017

Senior Process Engineer

• Built, optimized, and ran a $2 million protein separation pilot plant, completing commissioning under budget and on time while ensuring food grade, consistent pilot batches
• Created robust lab-scale protein processes, tested new equipment, and established protocols for assay correlation, effectively supporting tech transfer to production scale
• Developed analytical assays, sampling plans, and sensory testing protocols to meet and maintain product quality and functionality
• Supervised a team of researchers, managed pilot plant safety and scheduling, and provided guidance and cross training to junior staff and interns, fostering team expertise
• Led the design of a commercial protein manufacturing plant, coordinating cross-functional data for FEL-1 and FEL-2 reports, and communicating timelines and costs to leadership

• Oversaw optimization, engineering, safety, regulatory, and techno-economic aspects of the ozonolysis and hydrogenation process
• Designed and constructed new laboratory and pilot facilities
• Generated samples for all products for potential clients to show quality and spec
• Provided key input on business development, process decisions, and production schedule

• Managed project on converting ligno-cellulosic biomass to drop-in fuels with industrial partner
• Built a comprehensive carbon mass balance from feedstocks through final fermentation products
• Enhanced biomass processing and fermentation to achieve DoE’s target ethanol cost of $2.12/gallon