WHY IS INNOVATION IN ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS CHALLENGING?
The development of innovative alternative proteins requires addressing a complex interplay of technological, nutritional, sensory, economic and regulatory factors:
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Scalability and Cost
Scaling up production of alternative proteins to meet demand while keeping costs competitive with traditional proteins is a significant challenge. Many alternative protein production methods, such as plant-based meat substitutes or lab-grown meat, require complex and expensive processes.
Nutritional Profile
Alternative proteins need to match or exceed the nutritional content of traditional proteins to be accepted by consumers. Achieving the right balance of essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals in plant-based or lab-grown proteins can be challenging.
Taste and Texture
Consumers are accustomed to the taste and texture of meat, dairy, and other animal-based proteins. Creating alternative proteins that replicate these sensory experiences convincingly is difficult.
Regulatory Hurdles
Alternative protein products may face regulatory challenges related to novel food, labeling, safety, and production methods. Navigating these regulatory frameworks is time-consuming and costly for companies developing alternative protein products.
HOW TO SURVIVE THE VALLEY OF DEATH?
These challenges during the scale-up are often described as "The Valley of Death": the phases between the Research & Development phase and the Commercialization where a lot of time and money has to be spend in order to overcome all technological, nutritional and regulatory problems. Every step forward in this scale up process will be more expensive as a result of testing on a larger scale in larger equipment.
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The end result of these hurdles is many times that the development takes much more time than anticipated and the funding runs short. As the funding depletes, startups struggle to secure additional investments necessary for solving the issues and realization of the commercial plant.
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The phases are mostly about deriksing the scale up of the technology, product and market development. Although investments for a full scale commercial plant in general are much higher, this is an easier proposition with investors because the business case is de-risked and there will be revenues coming in at the end of this phase.
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Surviving the Valley of Death can be done by making the curve less deep and as short as possible.
But how can that be done?!
Key is to:​
WHICH DEVELOPMENT PHASES DO YOU HAVE?
Development of a new production processes for alternative protein ingredient from first idea to full-scale production and commercialization consists of several different phases. All these phases need to be executed and evaluated with the purpose to reduce risk in every step towards full scale commercialization. Once the decision to invest in a full scale plant is on the table all essential aspects regarding product, technology, market, finance, registration and patents should have been accessed and sufficiently de-risked to do the investment. The phases during the development process are:
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Idea generation
The first phase starts with the generation of an idea to introduce a new product, process or application. Once the first idea is defined a brief evaluation will be made of the rewards, risks, potential showstoppers, etc. from the various disciplines. Also a first estimate of the financials is made.
Feasibility phase
In this phase, the basic concept behind the original idea will be assessed and proven at laboratory level (proof-of-concept). Initial evaluation of market opportunities and potential market demand will also be done.
Development work in this phase starts in the laboratory. During this phase the method to extract or produce the protein is developed on a small scale and a first end-product is formulated. Once this is successfully achieved Proof of Concept is realized.
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Development phase
In the development phase, the laboratory-assessed idea will be proven to be viable on bench scale and/or pilot plant scale. The main focus is to develop a few options how the product can be produced. In most cases there are several different unit operations available for separation of biomass, purification of the protein and concentrating an drying of the protein at the end. Depending on the desired functionality and requirements of the products different processes will be developed. At the end of this phase the product and the process to produce the product is defined.
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Scale-up phase
In this phase the process technology is scaled up, from bench scale or pilot plant to a process that can run in unit operations equivalent to the future production installation.
Where activities in the development phase are mostly focused on selecting and testing the right unit operations, this phases is about testing durability and determining essential scale-up parameters towards the full scale plant. Also market testing is part of this phase to confirm there is a need and consumers are willing to buy the product.
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Demo phase
Once the process is scaled up and the unit operations are known product needs to be produced for customers to start their market introduction and evaluation. For this reason the process needs to run for longer time to produce sufficient product and during this phase the yield and capacity of the process is further optimized.
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Plant Startup
Once the commercial plant is complete and tested the startup of the process is done which can take in general 6 to more than 12 months. It is the first time a process runs on full scale and often new issues appear that need to be solved.
WHAT ARE ALTERNATIVE
PROTEINS?
Alternative proteins refer to a range of protein sources that are not derived from traditional animal agriculture.
They are innovative alternatives designed to meet the nutritional needs of consumers while addressing concerns related to sustainability, environmental impact, animal welfare, and food security.
Plant based
Plant based proteins are sourced from plants such as legumes (like peas, lentils, and chickpeas), soy, grains, nuts, and seeds. Plant-based proteins are used to create meat substitutes, dairy alternatives, and various other products. They offer a sustainable alternative to animal-based proteins, often with lower environmental footprints.
Fermentation
Biomass fermentation
Biomass fermentation is a classic way of fermentation where microorganisms are grown as the product itself. In the case of proteins the fermentation is aiming for a high protein content of the biomass. The whole biomass is used as the product, there is no further isolation or purification process done to isolate the pure protein. Examples are mycoproteins which are used for meat alternatives.
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Precision fermentation
Precision fermentation involves using microorganisms like yeast, fungi or bacteria to produce specific proteins, nutrients, or other compounds without the need for agricultural production. It's a process where these microorganisms are genetically modified or engineered to ferment and create proteins or substances that can be used in food products. The proteins are produced intracellular or extracellular and need after the fermentation further isolation, purification and concentration before the protein is obtained.
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Air Protein
Air Protein is a relatively new concept in alternative protein production. It involves using gases (such as carbon dioxide) and combining them with microorganisms in a fermentation process to create protein. This innovative approach aims to produce protein without the use of sugars and therefore not relying on traditional agriculture or land use, potentially offering a highly sustainable and resource-efficient method for generating protein sources.
Cell based & Cultured
Cultivated protein refers to the production of meat or fish proteins using cell culture techniques. Instead of raising and slaughtering whole animals, this process involves cultivating animal cells in a bioreactor to grow meat.
This approach aims to offer a more ethical and sustainable way of producing meat by reducing the environmental impact and avoiding animal welfare concerns associated with traditional animal farming.
