[1][2][3] Methylococcus capsulatus is a Type I methanotroph, meaning that it is a member of the Gammaproteobacteria and that it utilizes the ribulose monophosphate pathway (RuMP) for formaldehyde assimilation.

Natural gas contains methane, ethane, and propane and needs the following bacterium to metabolize each compound: Methylococcus capsulatus, Brevibacillus agri, and Aneurinibacillus.

[6] The abundant supply of natural gases, reasonable cost, and cheap transportation allow this food source to be a cost-effective alternative.

The cells that are produced are continuously harvested and processed to create the final "BioProtein" or Bacterial Meal (BM) that is used commercially as an animal feed alternative.

[6] In 1999, Norferm a subsidiary of the Norwegian oil company Statoil, opened a 10,000 tons per year plant to produce animal feed from natural gas from M. capsulatus[2] in Tjeldbergodden, Norway.

[7] In 2016 Calysta, an American biotech company, opened a plant in Teesside, UK, to produce up to 100 tons of fish feed a year from natural gas using M. capsulatus.

[3][8] Another company, Unibio, also opened a plant to produce animal feed from natural gas in 2016 with a capacity of 80 tons per year using M. capsulatus in Kalundborg, Denmark.