July 23, 2019

by Lynda Kiernan

By 2050, the dietary needs of more than 10 billion people will have to be met – and met in ways that are sustainable, reduce climate change, and mitigate environmental challenges.

Alternative protein sources have been increasingly on the radar of both consumers and investors. Global protein consumption is expected to climb at a CAGR of 1.7 percent, reaching 943 million tons by 2054, according to Lux Research, and in recent months startups that are developing methods of distilling protein from non-animal and non-traditional sources have been garnering both attention and capital. 

The latest to come to our attention is iCell Sustainable Nutrition Co. out of Hong Kong, and its partner, Shandong Zhonggu Starch Sugar Co. of China, who together announced the completion of their full-scale production facility that will convert nutrients previously lost in the processing water used to make starch into single-cell protein for use in animal feed. 

With production of three million tons of corn starch per year, Shandong Zhonggu Starch Sugar Co. is a leading large-scale processor whose facility generates more than 10,000 tons of nutrient-rich wastewater per day, necessitating treatment and disposal at a cost of more than $3 million per year. 

The facility, which will be located in Shandong, China, will be the second single-cell facility in the country for iCell, which holds more than 50 global patents for the use of single-cell proteins in plant nutrition and animal feed. To generate the single cell protein, iCell applies its advanced and patented technology to the wastewater from Shandong Zhonggu Starch Sugar Co. using rapid control fermentation, cell wall breaking enzymolysis, instantaneous air drying, sterilizing, and other processes to achieve the end results. 

“By recovering valuable nutrients from the process water with patented technology, iCell has created a more integrated and holistic water management strategy that converts nutrients which were previously discarded, into high-quality, single-cell proteins for animal feed,” said Jianhua Song, vice president of operations with iCell. “We anticipate that this facility will generate economic value that exceeds US$3.5 million per year.” 

“The single cell protein (SCP) from iCell contains high levels of proteins with excellent amino acid profiles and nucleotide content, making it a more cost-effective supplement for animal feed than fish meal,” said Dr. Hellen Wang, senior nutritionist with iCell. “We’ve also found that the SCP from iCell improves an animal’s ability to absorb the proteins and improves feed conversion ratios (FCR) because iCell’s SCP does not contain antigens typically found in plant proteins like soybean meal, making it excellent for aquaculture applications.”

The generation of single-cell protein has been a booming category in the agtech space this year, and in recent months GAI News has covered numerous startups dedicated to generating protein from non-traditional sources. 

In February Food tech startup Sustainable Bioproducts closed a $33 million Series A from a selection of some of the top venture capital funds, and two of the largest food and agribusiness companies in the world.

Born as a research project under NASA, and based out of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago, Sustainable Bioproducts’ CEO Thomas Jonas said that the original aim was to study extremophile organisms – microbes that can live and thrive under extreme conditions.

This work led the team to study microbes living in the volcanic springs at Yellowstone National Park, and to the development of an innovative fermentation technology that enables the production of protein in a laboratory without negative environmental effects.

“Curiosity and a passion for exploration led us to Yellowstone, one of the harshest ecosystems in the world,” said Thomas Jonas, co-founder and CEO, Sustainable Bioproducts at the time. “By observing how life optimizes the use of resources in this challenging environment, we have invented a way to make protein that is radically more efficient and gentler on our planet.”

Four months later, Calysta, a leading producer of alternative protein and sustainable biological fish and livestock feed, announced a $30 million investment from BP Ventures to support the company in its goal of improving global food security through FeedKind™  – a sustainable single-cell protein that is produced using a proprietary, commercially viable gas fermentation process using non-GM microbes that have the ability to use methane as an energy source.

Less than a month later, Indian biotech company String Bio announced it raised an undisclosed sum provided by French investor Seventure Partners, Ankur Capital, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), KITVEN (Karnataka’s Information and Biotechnology Venture Fund), and Srinivasa Hatcheries in support of its String Integrated Methane Platform (SIMP) that leverages  synthetic biology, fermentation technology, chemistry, and process engineering to act upon methane to create value-added protein products for the animal nutrition, human nutrition, agriculture, and cosmetics industries, among others.

GAI News has also made mention of Solar Foods, a Finland-based startup producing vegan, animal-free edible protein from air and electricity, that has also partnered with the European Space Agency to develop novel processes for food production for future space exploration. 

– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.