Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Proton (Recycling industrial CO2 into cost-competitive protein for high-value, sustainable animal feed)
Reporting period: 2021-10-01 to 2023-09-30
Deep Branch is a startup that uses clean and renewable carbon and energy sources to create ingredients for a more sustainable food system. The core of the company’s technology is the (R)evolve™ aerobic gas fermentation platform, that utilises proprietary microbes capable of using carbon dioxide and hydrogen as feedstocks for fermentation instead of sugar. The first product that Deep Branch are developing is Proton™, an ultra-sustainable single cell protein developed for applications in animal feed.
Increasing population and per capita consumption of animal products will double the demand for animal products by 2050. With the current 4% CAGR for the animal feed market, it is estimated that the equivalent of >25 million tonnes of additional protein ingredients could be required by 2028. Current climate targets mean that no increase in deforestation or overfishing can be afforded to enable increased soy and fishmeal output, but regardless of these considerations, the Earth is simply unable to provide this much protein from conventional sources. With this in mind, Deep Branch defines the total addressable market for Proton™ as the €50bn gap between current supply of incumbent protein ingredients and future demand by 2030 entering as a non-disruptive player.
Deep Branch has developed Proton™, a cost-competitive and radically more sustainable alternative to conventional protein sources for animal feed. Proton™ has the potential for significant replacement of conventional protein sources, such as soy and fishmeal. Deep Branch has successfully validated the (R)evolve™ platform in a containerised, Mobile Pilot Unit (MPU) using purified CO2 at industrial locations in the UK and Netherlands. The company's initial focus will be on the €44bn aquaculture feed markets, with the €100bn+ monogastric market to follow.
The EIC Accelerator project was scoped to deliver a first-in-class pilot facility for Proton™ production at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen (The Netherlands). The objectives of the project were to build a Pilot Plant capable of producing >200 kg Proton™ per month, to fully validate the nutritional viability of Proton™, to complete the design for a demo plant and to secure necessary IP protection.
Increasing population and per capita consumption of animal products will double the demand for animal products by 2050. With the current 4% CAGR for the animal feed market, it is estimated that the equivalent of >25 million tonnes of additional protein ingredients could be required by 2028. Current climate targets mean that no increase in deforestation or overfishing can be afforded to enable increased soy and fishmeal output, but regardless of these considerations, the Earth is simply unable to provide this much protein from conventional sources. With this in mind, Deep Branch defines the total addressable market for Proton™ as the €50bn gap between current supply of incumbent protein ingredients and future demand by 2030 entering as a non-disruptive player.
Deep Branch has developed Proton™, a cost-competitive and radically more sustainable alternative to conventional protein sources for animal feed. Proton™ has the potential for significant replacement of conventional protein sources, such as soy and fishmeal. Deep Branch has successfully validated the (R)evolve™ platform in a containerised, Mobile Pilot Unit (MPU) using purified CO2 at industrial locations in the UK and Netherlands. The company's initial focus will be on the €44bn aquaculture feed markets, with the €100bn+ monogastric market to follow.
The EIC Accelerator project was scoped to deliver a first-in-class pilot facility for Proton™ production at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen (The Netherlands). The objectives of the project were to build a Pilot Plant capable of producing >200 kg Proton™ per month, to fully validate the nutritional viability of Proton™, to complete the design for a demo plant and to secure necessary IP protection.
During the initial phase of the project Deep Branch has been working towards the deployment of a first-in-class pilot facility for the production of Proton™ (a single cell crotein (SCP)) product, Proton™. This process requires the use ofcarbon dioxide,hydrogen and oxygen gases as inputs, as well as a simple solution of other nutients The facility has been designed to achieve operational production capacities necessary to service application development work in animal feed. Early product batches from the pilot facility will be directed towards further demonstration of Proton™’s efficacy as a protein ingredient in compound animal feeds across both aquaculture and poultry markets.
To date, the project has successfully progressed through a series of deployment phases for the pilot, from Concept through to Detailed Design, and most recently facility installation phases. Significant procurement activities were undertaken following the extensive design phases, and final phases of deployment are nearing completion for the first-of-a-kind facility, including installation activities for both the core system and the supporting infrastructure of the wider facility.
Moreover, small volumes of Proton™ production has continued from our lab in Nottingham (UK). These volumes were used to validate the nutritious value of the product.
The completion of the installation phase of the project is set for the end of 2023, with commissioning of the pilot and the subsequent first production campaign scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. The final result of the project will be a fully bespoke Pilot Plant, at the Deep Branch Scale-up Hub located on the Brightlands Campus, Geleen, Netherlands.
To date, the project has successfully progressed through a series of deployment phases for the pilot, from Concept through to Detailed Design, and most recently facility installation phases. Significant procurement activities were undertaken following the extensive design phases, and final phases of deployment are nearing completion for the first-of-a-kind facility, including installation activities for both the core system and the supporting infrastructure of the wider facility.
Moreover, small volumes of Proton™ production has continued from our lab in Nottingham (UK). These volumes were used to validate the nutritious value of the product.
The completion of the installation phase of the project is set for the end of 2023, with commissioning of the pilot and the subsequent first production campaign scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. The final result of the project will be a fully bespoke Pilot Plant, at the Deep Branch Scale-up Hub located on the Brightlands Campus, Geleen, Netherlands.
A range of technical developments surrounding the design of scaled-up aerobic gas-fermentation systems have been necessary to enable the effective and safe deployment of the technology at pilot and commercially relevant scales. These developments have represented significant opportunities for intellectual property as Deep Branch continues to operate at the forefront of commercialising aerobic CO2-to-X technology. The technology ultimately represents a platform for the conversion of CO2 and Hydrogen into an extensive range of sustainable fermentation products, meaning that the advancements made through this EIC funded project have genuine scope to disrupt multiple markets with sustainable and cost competitive alternatives to existing sources of biologically produced material inputs and ingredients. Alternative protein is in this regard just the starting application for this disruption.