Precision fermentation — which involves brewing genetically modified microorganisms to produce new kinds of molecules and proteins — has a huge range of applications. It’s often used to help create new categories of food, like dairy-free milk and chicken-free eggs, but it can also be used to produce personal care ingredients that are usually reliant on petrochemicals.
As such, it has the potential to change the contents of everything from food cupboards to bathroom cabinets — Guardian columnist and writer George Monbiot called it “the most important environmental technology ever developed.” It has the potential to become “the primary production platform of the future”, says Bernd Everaert, founder of Ghent-based AmphiStar, which uses precision fermentation to make greener ingredients for shampoos, toothpastes and other cosmetics goods.
So the possibilities are promising, but what’s stopping Europe’s precision fermentation startups from scaling up and onto shelves?
A fermented future?
First, let’s unpack some of the benefits. One big draw of the tech is the reduction of resources needed in production compared to traditional ingredients, especially given that fermenters don’t require acres of farmland or giant chemical plants.
“By using precision fermentation, the potential positive effect on the environmental footprint of food production is nothing short of astounding,” says Jisk de Vries, investment associate at the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund. For example, dairy proteins made using precision fermentation involve 90% less land use and 91% less GHG emissions than animal-derived alternatives.
Another big draw is that AmphiStar’s fermented output — its so-called microbial biosurfactants — doesn’t require traditional chemical processes.
The consumer will still have a high performing product and contribute to a better environmental climate.
“Precision fermentation allows you to upcycle waste and industrial side streams to valuable active compounds that are locally produced, with no direct land use and with a mild production process (low temperature, low pressure, no toxic catalysts) to make products that are biodegradable and not toxic,” says Everaert.
There’s also more scientific control afforded with precision fermentation compared to traditional chemical production, he adds. “Biotechnology has an enormous advantage over chemistry in the circular economy: our robust microorganisms can handle complex waste streams, while in chemistry expensive pre-treatment is required to obtain pure substrates to avoid uncontrolled side reactions. We were able to programme our microorganisms to make specific, uniform molecules and they only take what they need from the waste stream.”
For others, the benefit comes in divesting from ingredients produced overseas. Martin Plambech, CEO of Copenhagen’s Biosyntia, which makes a nutrient called biotin that’s used in things like beauty products and cosmetics, highlights that most of the biotin today is made using petrochemicals sourced in China.
Biosyntia’s alternative not only introduces local production, but is also better for the planet: “Our product will reduce the use of chemicals by over 95%, remove approximately 40 kilograms of hazardous waste for every kilogram of biotin produced, and reduce CO2 emissions by around 50%. So the consumer will still have a high performing product and contribute to a better environmental climate,” he says.
The price problem
So, why aren’t these products already on shelves everywhere?
One big issue is pricing. The first generation of products made using precision fermentation might be more planet-friendly, but they usually can’t compete on price.
Customers are typically leaving the risk taking to the startups and venture capital firms.
“The chemical industry has been around a lot longer and is more optimised for commodity bulk products at a significantly higher production scale, making it almost impossible now to compete on price,” says Everaert.
That means that the pool of people willing to give novel products a go is limited, adds Plambech: “So, although [these products] have the potential to make a positive climate impact — and on top make us less dependent on China — customers are typically leaving the risk taking to the startups and venture capital firms.”
Progress could also be made with more government support, says Eric van der Meer, CEO at Dutch company Dab.bio, which makes industrial scale fermentation equipment. “Solutions are available,” he says. “And smart policies can do wonders. Mandating a certain percentage of green compounds in products means that the demand for those compounds is assured, and companies can invest in the necessary manufacturing plants.”
European roadblocks
Alongside sector-wide barriers like pricing, Europe’s startups have their own unique challenges.
Everaert highlights a bottleneck when it comes to getting molecules and product safety tested: “animal testing is required on novel molecules to go through the EU’s REACH (aka Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation — but the consumer and cosmetic industry do not want animal tested products and alternative testing methods are not accepted yet by the European Chemicals Agency,” he says.
When it comes to production, Europe has to pay attention to maintaining its competitive edge.
Like with many first-of-their-kind technologies, regulation itself is also a barrier, says de Vries. “We see that it can take multiple years to get novel food approval and the right to sell in Europe [compared with the process] in the US.”
“When it comes to production, Europe has to pay attention to maintaining its competitive edge,” he says. “Both the feedstock and the energy required for fermentation are cheap and readily available in the US, and the country has seen increased government commitments to strengthen its biomanufacturing capacity and infrastructure.”
But, he adds, things could positively change in Europe in the coming years.
“With increased investment, especially in bioprocess engineering, sensors, computing power and software development and downstream processes, [the cost of goods] will drop,” he says.
“By becoming more cost-competitive with other fields, we expect precision fermentation to expand beyond its current applications in pharma and nutrition into speciality [goods]. With the ever-increasing focus on sustainability, we are convinced precision fermentation will play a crucial role in changing the way we produce food, ingredients and chemicals.”
