5. Food from precision fermentation and algae
Background and scope:
Land based agricultural production is the source of approximately 95% of human food nutrients (UN FAO). Intensive and often inappropriate practices in agriculture have however resulted in severe soil degradation, thereby reducing the capacity of soils to support food production and other important ecosystem services such as the regulation of water, nutrients and carbon cycles. Soil degradation is further accelerated by the effects of climate change leading to significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the release of nutrients. When combined with an increasing human population, likely to increase net demand for food by a further 60%96, there is a clear rationale to explore complementary routes to food production that are efficient, resilient, and sustainable, thereby helping the sector realise its net zero ambitions. This Accelerator Challenge focuses on supporting the production of food from precision fermentation and algae that decouples food production from the soil and environmental conditions. It looks to support the development of viable alternatives that complement agriculture, and capable of producing foods rich in proteins, fats, carbohydrates, dietary fibres, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients by bacteria, yeasts, fungi, and algae in quantities that are comparable to, or even greater than, foods of traditional plant or animal origin. Such foods may also thus deliver precision nutrition that provides consumers with healthier alternatives with regard to reference intakes of nutrients, thereby contributing to maintain the overall health of the general population. These foods could be produced from agricultural side streams and wastes instead of high-value crops, and used for human consumption, as a nutritional supplement, ingredient, or for animal feed. The benefits of such a shift include ease of production, independence from climate conditions, reduced pressure on natural resources such as land and water, reduced hazards associated with the use of pesticides and antibiotics, and cost-effectiveness. A shift from the current livestock production system would also reduce dependency on feed imports, with beneficial effects on reducing global biodiversity losses.
Specific objectives:
In support of the EU Soil Mission, the EU Green Deal, Farm to Fork strategy, Fit for 55 and REPowerEU policy actions, the key goal of this Challenge is to support the production of sustainable and nutritious food from precision fermentation and algae.
Innovations must go beyond incremental changes to the state of the art and deliver novel production processes that must deliver energy and resource efficient, low- emission foods that are integral to a healthy diet. The approaches taken must be scalable based on a range of process parameters such as, but not limited to light, temperature, and pressure to allow custom modification of the final product to a range of operating environments including those with high, or even extreme, resource constraints without compromising the potential gains from a shift to food from precision fermentation and algae. Further, innovations must also ensure a closed circle production process to prevent the release of micro-organisms or other contaminantsthroughwastestreams. Allprojectsmustthereforeprovidealifecycle assessment taking into account environmental, social and economic considerations.
The specific objectives of this Challenge are the development and scaling up of interdisciplinary solutions in the areas of:
- Bacteria, yeast or fungi-based fermentation systems
- Macro-and micro-algae based novel aquaculture systems.
Proposals are expected to consider regulatory aspects alongside issues surrounding consumer acceptance and articulate suitable strategies to support market entry within and beyond the EU.
Expected outcomes and impacts:
This Challenge aims to improve the sustainability, efficiency, and resilience of the European food supply chain through decoupling food production from the soil and minimising environmental impacts including water pollution. It looks to support radical technological innovation with possible disruptive effects on existing markets to secure additional food sources while preserving the environment and supporting biodiversity at the same time. Viable alternatives are critical to address challenges linked to climate change and the environment including biodiversity loss and pollution. In doing so, this Challenge will foster EU technological autonomy and leadership in delivering scalable food production processes that can generate benefits to consumers in Europe and beyond. Further, the development of novel foods and processes may also help provide consumers with healthier alternatives thereby decreasing the incidence of food- related health conditions amongst the general population.
Budget : 50 M€
XXXEIC Accelerator: https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-pathfinder_en