Project description
Sustainable animal feed for a greener future
Half of the protein fed to livestock is wasted due to incomplete digestibility and differences in amino acid profiles between plants and animals. This inefficiency contributes to environmental pollution. Moreover, the EU relies heavily on imported soybean meal, at a cost of EUR 1.5 billion per year, while struggling to secure sufficient protein sources for animal feed. To address these issues, the EIC-funded SYNFEED project will develop a novel interdisciplinary technological approach. The project will use precision nutrition, protein engineering, cell-free systems and fermentation to produce highly digestible tailored proteins, reducing environmental impact and dependence on imported raw materials. The project will demonstrate this solution in broiler chickens as a first model and promote EU leadership in sustainable biosynthetic protein production.
Objective
Half of the protein directed towards animal feeding is wasted due to incomplete protein digestibility, and the distinct amino acid profiles found in both plants and animals. This generates serious pollution problems for our soils, aquifers, and atmosphere (e.g. livestock contribute to 87% of total ammonia emissions in agriculture). Moreover, EU faces significant challenges in providing adequate protein sources for animal feed (97% of soybean meal is imported; €1.5 billion/year). Hence, it is imperative to identify a sustainable solution for animal protein supply. SYNFEED will demonstrate that by developing a new interdisciplinary technological approach, it is possible to generate proteins that can produce a radical paradigm change in the way animals are fed, highly reducing both the environmental impact and external dependence on raw materials of the EU. Using the broiler chicken as a model, SYNFEED will i) generate new precision nutrition knowledge (proportion of amino acids to fulfil the requirements and dynamics of protein hydrolysis in the targeted species); ii) design several candidate sequences using this nutritional information by protein engineering techniques (combining AI and molecular modelling); iii) generate these candidates in cell-free systems adapted to the final host and evaluate them in a new iterative procedure maximizing expression and digestibility potential; iv) optimize the sustainable biosynthesis of the selected protein with sustainable hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria strains; v) evaluate the effectiveness of the protein in broilers (productive performance, animal health and welfare and reduction of nitrogen losses), and the sustainability of SYNFEED solution with a life cycle assessment. This ground-breaking approach will replace conventional animal feeding, positioning the EU as a leader in biosynthetic protein generation, promoting the emergence of biotech companies and reducing livestock environmental impact.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science domestic animals animal husbandry animal feed
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2024-PATHFINDEROPEN-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
46022 VALENCIA
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.