The company develops industrial processes that utilize microorganisms to convert methane into protein for seafood, livestock feed[1] and other food ingredients.

[2][3] It operates a demonstration plant in Teesside, England,[4] that uses methanotroph bacteria to convert methane into single cell protein[5] currently approved for use in fish and livestock feed in the European Union.

[10][11] However, its main technology is based on a similar method developed in the 1980s by Statoil,[12] an unrelated and state-owned energy company in Norway.

[6] Using the ten-million-dollar total funding from investors including Aqua-Spark,[13] Calysta began a study to determine the viability of a mass production facility.

"[17] The firm raised an additional $40 million in May 2017 from existing and new investors including Japan's Mitsui & Co. and Singapore's Temasek Holdings.