Finnish scientists say the lab-grown food will reduce the environmental impact of food production. The protein is made “from thin air” and they say it could compete with soy within the next ten years. The protein is produced using soil bacteria and fed with hydrogen extracted from water by electrolysis.
According to Pasi Vainikka, president of the Solar Foods pilot plant, the ideas behind the technology were initially developed for the space industry in the 1960s. Vainikka says the pilot plant has fallen behind schedule by a few months, but the project will be completed in 2022. “We’re doing very well so far. Once we scale up production by adding reactors (to ferment the protein) and consider the impressive advances in other clean technologies like solar and wind, we think we could compete with soybeans possibly as early as 2025.”
Photo: BBC
