Creating groundbreaking protein alternatives

Innovative partners combine technology and know how to transform CO2 into food

Project highlights

This project brings together a consortium of companies and university researchers, including Topsoe, Novonesis, Washington University and the Novo Nordisk Foundation CO2 Research Center (CORC) at Aarhus University. The principle behind the project is, at least on the surface, incredibly simple. Fermentation requires sugar, which is what the different bacterias and microorganisms feed on that creates the carbon dioxide, alcohol and/acid that results in a ‘fermented’ product. While ferments can be done using the naturally occuring sugars found in some fruits and vegetables, fermentation at an industrial scale require the addition of refined sugar, a crop that currently takes up around 65 million acres worldwide and at least 25% of the dedicated farmland of roughly a dozen countries1. This, however, does not apply if acetate (more commonly known as vinegar) is introduced into the process – it bypasses the need for sugar altogether.

 The purpose of the consortium is to solve this problem by using CO2 captured from production facilities to produce acetate that can then be used in a fermentation process that will produce proteins for human consumption. This is not only an interesting exploration into new uses for CO2 capture, but could open up the possibilities of creating a sustainable alternative to animal protein and enable stable food production to feed the world’s growing population. This consortium is supported by the Gates Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation, with a total combined funding of up to DKK 200 million.

Key facts

Partners: Novonesis, Washington University, Novo Nordisk Foundation CO2 Research Center, Aarhus University, Gates Foundation and Novo Nordisk Foundation

Technology: SOEC Electrolysis

Impact: The potential to produce protein alternatives to feed 1 billion people every year

Topsoe's role

Within the first phase of the project, Topsoe will be exploring the potential of the most optimal reduction of CO2 via SOEC to intermediates that can be used to later produce acetate.

“This project aligns perfectly with our Power-to-X strategy, as it allows us to expand our activities to include CO2 electrolysis to our TSP-2 platform” explains Sune Dalgaard Ebbesen, Group Manager, Tech Scouting & Research Funding, PtX Topsoe, “The project further supports our activities on maturing the most optimal process from CO2 to eMethanol.”

The symbiotic process that is enabled by the technologies Topsoe provides epitomizes the core idea behind Power-to-X – if renewable energy is harnessed by specific technologies designed and sequenced in the right way, this electricity can be used to create a near infinite number of outputs, even including the ingredients for a new kind of protein. Joining this consortium perfectly combines Topose’s legacy and it’s future – for decades, the Topsoe team has worked on solving the issue of hunger through fertilizer technology. Now, one of it’s most innovative technologies can be used for the same purpose.

How do you transform CO2 into food grade proteins?

Video courtesy of Novo Nordisk Foundation

An ancient process paired with innovative technology

At the broadest level, fermentation is defined as “the process by which a microorganism converts sugar into another substance in the absence of oxygen.” As a tool for preservation, fermentation has always been inextricably linked to the issue of food security, leveraging microorganisms to transform foods to prolong their utility and nutritional value. While nowadays fermentation is primarily used to produce flavors we collective love and broaden the horizons of how food can be created and enjoyed, it’s origins are founded in the simplest questions: how can food be made to last longer, be more transportable, and enhance nutrition? Fermentation was one of humanity’s first tools to tackle food insecurity, and it is exactly for this reason that it is central to this project.

A project with multiple avenues for impact

First, utilizing CO2 as a way to assist in food production not only further incentivizes the need to capture facility emissions wherever possible, it shows a clear use case for how it can be actively used instead of stored. And since microorganisms also emit a small amount of CO2 in the fermentation process, this can actually be repurposed and recirculated into the process to create a fully circular, closed emission loop.

Second, the ability to create food proteins through fermentation allows for an effective substitute that does not rely on meat or dairy farming. As Topsoe’s Chief Technology Officer for PtX, Poul Georg Moses explains: “The technologies are estimated to be able to produce enough protein for more than 1 billion people every year, creating a stable source of nutritious food for people living in areas with limited potential for conventional agriculture, such as in low- or middle-income countries.” This, paired with the fact that this process does not rely on sugar consumption, means the toll of land and water used from industrial agriculture, not to mention the additional emissions they account for, have the potential to be reduced dramatically.

Finally, and just as fermentation has always been used, this project aims to pluralize access to nutrition and address the endemic issue of food insecurity across the world.

The power of a collaborative consortium

The Acetate Consortium is representative of what can happen when like-minded experts collaborate openly, exploring the possibilities of what can happen when different disciplines overlap and unlock new, potentially life-changing solutions. It is also an excellent representation of what can happen when new technological solutions are met with age-old methods.

While many of the transformations needed in this process are enabled through finely tuned and pain-stackingly designed chemical processes, the one at it’s core, that of fermentation, is the oldest and most deeply ingrained in human food practices. While this project is demonstrative of how powerful innovative technologies are when working in tandem, it perhaps more importantly illustrates the need to look at what we have, what we know, and work with it. The Acetate Consortium has not only brought together a collaborative community of scientific professionals, it has bridged the gap between ancient practices and cutting-edge technology – with the potential to make a life-changing impact on the world’s collective future.

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