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Can coal be converted into sustainable protein?
CategoriesSustainable News

Can coal be converted into sustainable protein?

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: It’s well-established that the food we eat has a huge impact on the planet, with food production generating over a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. But, do you ever consider the impact of what we feed our livestock? For instance, feed production accounts for between 50 and 85 per cent of the climate change impact of pigs and poultry. And often, countries must rely on imports for quality feed, including China, which has been heavily dependent on imported soy – raising concerns over supply and food security in the country.

Now, however, researchers at the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences believe they have a more sustainable and affordable alternative protein source: coal.

The team, led by Professor Wu Xin, converted coal into methanol via coal gasification, and this methanol was then fermented using a type of yeast called Pichia Pastoris to create single-cell proteins. This particular yeast strain is optimised for growth in methanol, achieving a methanol-to-protein conversion rate of 92 per cent the theoretical value. According to Professor Wu Xin, this makes the novel process far more efficient at producing crude protein than any other process in the food chain at the moment.

The proteins produced contain a holistic profile of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, which makes the resource a viable substitute for foodstuffs like fishmeal, soybeans, meat, and skimmed milk powder. For the future, the team aims to continue refining the process and use of methanol to make protein, hoping to make it even cheaper and more efficient.

There’s a lot of room for improvement in the global food system, and luckily innovators are rising to the challenge. Springwise has also spotted this AI-driven approach to making tastier alternatives to meat as well as these compact urban farms that tackle food insecurity.

Written By: Archie Cox 

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Could ‘biosolar leaves’ be the future of protein production?
CategoriesSustainable News

Could ‘biosolar leaves’ be the future of protein production?

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Agriculture and related land use represents around 17 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, global demand for protein is set to rise significantly by 2050, along with the growing population. Meeting this will require innovative approaches to efficiently scale protein production. One such approach is that developed by startup Arborea, which grows microalgae and phytoplankton on solar panel-like structures.

Arborea designed the panels to be placed on buildings, where they absorb CO2 and produce oxygen. The company claims that they do this at a rate equivalent to 100 trees from the surface area of just a single tree. At the same time, the organic biomass produced by the organisms can be harvested and used as additives for plant-based food products.

The company’s Biosolar Leaf technology mimics the function of a real leaf, using CO2 and sunlight as feedstock. But unlike real leaves, the system is able to self-regulate and indefinitely maintain ideal growth conditions with minimal energy inputs – and it doesn’t require fertile land or agricultural feedstocks.

Arborea was spun out of Imperial College London, with grant funding and support from Imperial’s SynbCITE, a synthetic biology and engineering biology industrial accelerator.

Improving food production while reducing carbon emissions is the subject of a number of recent innovations spotted by Springwise. These include an in-house mycelium production system for producing food additives and using acorns as a protein source.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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Brewing protein to make sustainable materials
CategoriesSustainable News

Brewing protein to make sustainable materials

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Textile production is a major user of energy and water resources – as well as a major source of CO2 and pollution. While progress is being made to develop less energy-intensive materials in some areas of textile production, it has been difficult to replicate the benefits of fibres derived from petrochemicals or animal-based fibres like silk, cashmere, and wool using lower-energy materials.

Japanese company Spiber, however, has developed a novel process for creating fibres and other materials through fermentation (brewing) of plant-based ingredients. Company representative Noriko Fukushima, described the Brewed Protein process as “utilising sugars and microbes, rather than petrochemical or animal-derived raw materials.”

Spiber currently uses sugars obtained from agricultural products such as sugarcane and corn as the main feedstock for the production of Brewed Protein materials. The company is aiming to shift to a regenerative and circular system involving the use of agricultural and textile waste, such as end-of-use fibres.

Spiber was founded initially in 2007 but began mass production in 2022 at a plant in Rayong Province, Thailand and is collaborating with ADM on the construction of a second mass production facility in Iowa. Since 2019, the company has also been working with well-known apparel companies and brands, including The North Face, Goldwin, and Pangaia, as well as introducing a new mascara with Shiseido that incorporates Brewed Protein fibres.

While fermentation is a novel way to produce fibres, Springwise has also spotted a wealth of plant-based alternatives to animal fibres. Recent innovations in the archive include footwear made from food waste and regenerative fibres.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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Microbial protein for people with modified diets
CategoriesSustainable News

Microbial protein for people with modified diets

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The global population is ageing, and the World Economic Forum states that Asia-Pacific will likely experience the fastest increase in the number of older citizens between now and 2050. This ageing population comes with a number of challenges, one of which is a greater need for modified diets that provide sufficient nutrition for those with health problems that prevent them from eating standard meals. Singaporean startup Pullulo is working to fill this need with a flexible product that can provide protein for different food applications.

Pullulo has developed an innovative microbial protein that is highly nutritious, affordable to produce, allergen-free, non-GMO, and vegan. It is also less susceptible to supply chain disruptions. The protein can be added to a wide variety of products – such as purees, 3D-printed food, soups, and stews – to give them a higher protein content.

In order to create a more sustainable product, Pullulo uses waste from surplus and discarded raw fruits and vegetables to produce its microbial proteins. The startup points out that the process of using microbes to generate protein also consumes carbon dioxide, allowing the company to support decarbonisation initiatives and continue scaling without harming the environment.

In explaining why it has opted to develop protein using microbes, rather than other sources, the company states that, “Microbial protein is an alternative plant-based protein that provides a compelling, efficient solution of securing food that’s accessible to all. It has higher protein content compared to traditional sources of protein like meat and uses upcycling for its production.”

The number of innovations involving meat replacements or cultivated meat has been increasing steadily as concern grows over the carbon footprint of livestock and dairy production. Some of the recent developments in this area that Springwise has spotted include a cultivated pork made using microalgae-based growth serum, and a fungus-derived substitute for egg whites.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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Upcycling broccoli waste into sustainable protein
CategoriesSustainable News

Upcycling broccoli waste into sustainable protein

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Broccoli is a healthy food containing fibre, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, and potassium. It also boasts more protein than most other vegetables, with virtually no fat. However, around 70 per cent of the entire broccoli harvest is left in the field. This is because only the small, centre portion of each plant – the florets – is harvested for food, leaving most of the stems and leaves to rot, even though they are perfectly edible.

Startup Upp is working to change this, with a two-pronged approach. The company is developing an automated harvester that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision to harvest the centre portion and stems separately. The harvester will then deliver the fresh broccoli for sale and the stems and leaves for upcycling into new products.

These upcycled stems and leaves will be used to produce protein by-products, as the company is looking to provide an alternative plant-based protein to pea and soya. Upp argues that using broccoli as a protein source is less carbon-intensive than soy or peas because the broccoli is already being grown for other uses.

David Whitewood, CEO of Upp says: “Upp is all about making the most of the crops that we already grow (…) In a future market of bioreactor and lab-grown alt-proteins, plant-based foods with good provenance will attract a premium like organic grass-fed beef does today.”

Upp has recently secured £500,000 (around €560,000) in pre-seed funding, in a round led by Elbow Beach Capital, to develop and commercialise its technology.

Food waste is a massive issue. Luckily, there is no shortage of innovations seeking to tackle it. Some that Springwise has spotted recently include a handheld system that uses AI to check freshness levels of fruit, and a closed-loop system that converts food waste into nutrients for use in hydroponics.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

Using AI to eliminate protein allergies
CategoriesSustainable News

Using AI to eliminate protein allergies

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Although statistics vary, it is estimated that one per cent of the global population have coeliac disease, and finding suitable and affordable gluten-free foods can be challenging. Working towards elimination of gluten sensitivity and food allergies is biotech startup Ukko, founded by Professor Yanay Ofran and Dr. Anat Binur. 

Using AI-engineered proteins, the company plans to create new food products that no longer trigger an allergic response. By mapping exactly which portion of a protein causes the allergic reaction, the co-founders have been able to keep the useful portions while discarding the dangerous parts. 

AI analysis helped the co-founders create a gluten protein that did not trigger a typical immune reaction yet still gave baked goods their textures and flavours. If grown commercially, the modified gluten could form a new strain of wheat that would be usable in many types of foods.    

Ukko points out that gluten-free products are often less healthy than the original version because of added preservatives and extra sugar. Healthcare costs are rising as dietary sensitivities increase, so modified proteins could have positive long term health consequences as fewer people require care for allergies or gluten intolerance.  

The next stage of development is to apply protein modification to allergy therapies, focusing first on peanuts. Manipulated proteins could be used to help individuals build up their tolerance to the food without any of the potentially fatal side effects.

As Springwise has spotted, biotechnology is shaping many industries, with molecular-level innovation making it possible to grow cultured meat from 3D-printed edible ink, and new types of microorganisms designed to target disease-causing proteins.  

Written By: Keely Khoury

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Increasing the protein count in chickpeas
CategoriesSustainable News

Increasing the protein count in chickpeas

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Supplying the world’s growing population with healthy amounts of protein that do not further damage the environment, has been a challenge for growers for generations. Plant-based proteins are a popular meat and dairy replacement but have not yet scaled enough to be totally commercially viable and are often too expensive once they do reach supermarket shelves. Meeting food regulatory requirements is also part of the difficulty of bringing such alternatives to shops. 

A new approach, from a California food tech company called NuCicer, doubles the protein value of the humble chickpea, making it a financially attractive alternative to other plant-based proteins, nearly cutting the cost of production of the crop in half. Bred from a strain of chickpea native to Turkey, Professor Douglas Cook, co-Founder and CSO at NuCicer, spent twenty years of research on legume genetics to bring the NuCicer version to market.  

The company offers proteins that are tailored to a specific product. For example, by including special gelling and emulsification properties, it allows the chickpea protein to be used in place of eggs or incorporating a specific mix of amino acids for use instead of meat. The NuCicer chickpeas are not genetically modified, and because the new variety contains double the amount of protein, growers can either double their output on the same amount of land or reduce the size of their crop while maintaining the same volume of protein output.  

The food industry is an area of exciting change, and Springwise has spotted products that range from bacteria-based, dairy-free whipped cream to fast-food vegan sushi restaurants.

Written By: Keely Khoury

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