Periodic Reporting for period 3 - SYLFEED (From forest to feed: enable the wood industry to bridge the protein gap)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-09-01 bis 2021-08-31
It is estimated that we will need 70% more food from our current supply in 2050. Despite considerable advances in industrial agriculture and livestock production, the system is highly resource-intensive, as animals are not efficiently converting feed from crops into edible meat/ protein.
In order to feed the growing population, aquaculture represents a promising opportunity to supply proteins in Europe, as it is a growing industry, and fishes have a much better feed conversion ratio compared to land-based animals. In addition, the numerous seas and coastal areas in Europe make it a well-suited continent for aquaculture production, in particular salmonids.
The continued growth of livestock and aquaculture production is dependent on considerable increases in feed supply and quality/performance, as 45-60% of livestock production costs are feed costs. This situation represents considerable opportunity in delivering new feed solutions, in terms of both cost and quality, especially in Europe where 70% of proteins for animal feed are imported.
Soy protein limitation for use in fish feed, future fish meal supply shortages and price volatility are driving the aquaculture industry imperative to incorporate alternative protein sources in feeds.
None of these protein sources being produced in Europe, European Food Security is at stake, and should facilitate the rise and commercialization of new alternative protein sources.
SYLFEED goal is to demonstrate the creation of a new value chain from “Forest to feed” by implementing the technology developed by ARBIOM at demonstration scale to prepare for industrial scale-up. The SYLFEED project aims at reducing the European protein gap by applying ARBIOM’s technology to produce protein-rich ingredient comprised of Single Cell Protein (SCP) from wood for aquaculture.
ARBIOM is using wood, a non-food, abundant, and renewable resource, and brings it into the food chain to produce SylPro®, a protein rich ingredient intended for feed and food markets.
The work done during the SYLFEED project showed that SylPro® is a viable protein ingredient for fish feed :
- Nutrition : large-scale trials showed that SylPro® can efficiently replace fishmeal or plant-based proteins in fish feed.
- Sustainability : the project's ISO-14040 certified LCA showed that SylPro® is a sustainable protein source with a low environmental impact
- Profitability : the business model established for ARBIOM’s future commercial plant provided satisfying results. This plant will create jobs in rural areas and contribute to the economy of both the aquaculture and forestry industries by providing a stable and locally produced protein source.
To conclude, the SYLFEED project validated an innovative solution to reduce the European protein gap via the development of an alternative supply of premium proteins.
In order to feed the growing population, aquaculture represents a promising opportunity to supply proteins in Europe, as it is a growing industry, and fishes have a much better feed conversion ratio compared to land-based animals. In addition, the numerous seas and coastal areas in Europe make it a well-suited continent for aquaculture production, in particular salmonids.
The continued growth of livestock and aquaculture production is dependent on considerable increases in feed supply and quality/performance, as 45-60% of livestock production costs are feed costs. This situation represents considerable opportunity in delivering new feed solutions, in terms of both cost and quality, especially in Europe where 70% of proteins for animal feed are imported.
Soy protein limitation for use in fish feed, future fish meal supply shortages and price volatility are driving the aquaculture industry imperative to incorporate alternative protein sources in feeds.
None of these protein sources being produced in Europe, European Food Security is at stake, and should facilitate the rise and commercialization of new alternative protein sources.
SYLFEED goal is to demonstrate the creation of a new value chain from “Forest to feed” by implementing the technology developed by ARBIOM at demonstration scale to prepare for industrial scale-up. The SYLFEED project aims at reducing the European protein gap by applying ARBIOM’s technology to produce protein-rich ingredient comprised of Single Cell Protein (SCP) from wood for aquaculture.
ARBIOM is using wood, a non-food, abundant, and renewable resource, and brings it into the food chain to produce SylPro®, a protein rich ingredient intended for feed and food markets.
The work done during the SYLFEED project showed that SylPro® is a viable protein ingredient for fish feed :
- Nutrition : large-scale trials showed that SylPro® can efficiently replace fishmeal or plant-based proteins in fish feed.
- Sustainability : the project's ISO-14040 certified LCA showed that SylPro® is a sustainable protein source with a low environmental impact
- Profitability : the business model established for ARBIOM’s future commercial plant provided satisfying results. This plant will create jobs in rural areas and contribute to the economy of both the aquaculture and forestry industries by providing a stable and locally produced protein source.
To conclude, the SYLFEED project validated an innovative solution to reduce the European protein gap via the development of an alternative supply of premium proteins.
For WP1, trials with equipment suppliers have been done to assess relevant technologies to optimize ARBIOM’s fractionation process.
Within WP2, large-scale process optimization has been ongoing following the validation of operability criterias. For the fermentation step, continuous fermentation for an extended period of time has been achieved and approximately 10 tonnes of SylPro® were produced during the period. Operating parameters of the downstream processing were further optimized.
The evaluation of SylPro® nutritional performances in Atlantic Salmon at large scale was performed over the period 3, including feed production, growth performance and digestibility performances trials at MATIS. It was demonstrated that SylPro® can replace fish meal or a mix of plant protein sources up to 20% in salmon feed diets without having any statistical difference concerning growth.
For WP4 additional work on lignin valorisation has been done, including the assessment of lignin in fish feed and the use of lignin for energy generation. Lignin inclusion showed promising application for fish oil during an output which arrived after the last month of the project. For energy generation, ARBIOM’s lignin results for barbecue briquettes application were satisfying.
On the market side, relationships with new potential end-users were established, and market studies activities continued, with a focus on Sea Bass and Sea Bream. Trials including SylPro® have also been made with 6 European partners. The business case has also been refined via the new data collected during the third period.
For WP6, the LCA has been done, the results showed that SylPro® had a better carbon footprint compared to several protein sources. The LCA has been peer-reviewed by Quantis to be ISO-14040 certified.
WP7 Communication & Dissemination activities focused on website and social media updates and the publication of press releases. A video displaying the final results of the SYLFEED project has also been released and webinars related to the project work have been organised.
Overall, the project has been going according to plan : all the milestones have been achieved and the project goals were reached. The results achieved by the end of the project met the objectives orignally set for ARBIOM‘s Wood-to-Food process scale-up and application potential of SylPro® as a sustainable fish feed ingredient. Those results will serve as a strong basis for the future commercial plant of ARBIOM.
Within WP2, large-scale process optimization has been ongoing following the validation of operability criterias. For the fermentation step, continuous fermentation for an extended period of time has been achieved and approximately 10 tonnes of SylPro® were produced during the period. Operating parameters of the downstream processing were further optimized.
The evaluation of SylPro® nutritional performances in Atlantic Salmon at large scale was performed over the period 3, including feed production, growth performance and digestibility performances trials at MATIS. It was demonstrated that SylPro® can replace fish meal or a mix of plant protein sources up to 20% in salmon feed diets without having any statistical difference concerning growth.
For WP4 additional work on lignin valorisation has been done, including the assessment of lignin in fish feed and the use of lignin for energy generation. Lignin inclusion showed promising application for fish oil during an output which arrived after the last month of the project. For energy generation, ARBIOM’s lignin results for barbecue briquettes application were satisfying.
On the market side, relationships with new potential end-users were established, and market studies activities continued, with a focus on Sea Bass and Sea Bream. Trials including SylPro® have also been made with 6 European partners. The business case has also been refined via the new data collected during the third period.
For WP6, the LCA has been done, the results showed that SylPro® had a better carbon footprint compared to several protein sources. The LCA has been peer-reviewed by Quantis to be ISO-14040 certified.
WP7 Communication & Dissemination activities focused on website and social media updates and the publication of press releases. A video displaying the final results of the SYLFEED project has also been released and webinars related to the project work have been organised.
Overall, the project has been going according to plan : all the milestones have been achieved and the project goals were reached. The results achieved by the end of the project met the objectives orignally set for ARBIOM‘s Wood-to-Food process scale-up and application potential of SylPro® as a sustainable fish feed ingredient. Those results will serve as a strong basis for the future commercial plant of ARBIOM.
During the third period, results of scale-up experiments at demonstration platforms allowed to gather supplementary data and further de-risk the launch of the first commercial plant. During the third period, process parameters used for the fractionation, fermentation and the downstream processing steps were improved. The teams at BBEU managed to run the fermentation process continuously at large scale and more than 10 tons of SylPro® were produced.
In addition, the large scale fish trials have demonstrated that our product does not negatively impact growth and digestibility up to 20% inclusion rate and reinforces SylPro®‘s viability as a compound for fish feed.
Concerning lignin valorisation, results concerning ARBIOM‘s lignin use for energy production (barbecue briquettes) shows that it has potential in that field. The use of lignin also showed interesting results for fish oil. Overall, the lignin valorisation routes need to be further explored but look promising. Concerning C5 valorisation, it has been determined that the best route would be to use them for SCP fermentation.
The ultimate goal of SYLFEED is to de-risk the launch of the first commercial plant with ARBIOM Wood-to-Food technology and demonstrate the effective creation of the value chain from wood sourcing till fish feed manufacturing.
Based on generated results, these objectives remain and the expected impacts of the project that are coming from the commercial plant deployment in Europe are not modified.
They are listed below:
- Increase of income for farmers and breeders as a result of the exploitation of residues.
- The SYLFEED project will allow fish farmers to get more competitive and sustainable products.
- Savings in terms of water and fertilizers consumption as well as of land use in comparison with the current animal feed production.
- Stronger food chain security
- Proven cost-efficient value chain and economically attractive protein production at industrial scale facilitating market acceptance and uptake of the developed products
In addition, the large scale fish trials have demonstrated that our product does not negatively impact growth and digestibility up to 20% inclusion rate and reinforces SylPro®‘s viability as a compound for fish feed.
Concerning lignin valorisation, results concerning ARBIOM‘s lignin use for energy production (barbecue briquettes) shows that it has potential in that field. The use of lignin also showed interesting results for fish oil. Overall, the lignin valorisation routes need to be further explored but look promising. Concerning C5 valorisation, it has been determined that the best route would be to use them for SCP fermentation.
The ultimate goal of SYLFEED is to de-risk the launch of the first commercial plant with ARBIOM Wood-to-Food technology and demonstrate the effective creation of the value chain from wood sourcing till fish feed manufacturing.
Based on generated results, these objectives remain and the expected impacts of the project that are coming from the commercial plant deployment in Europe are not modified.
They are listed below:
- Increase of income for farmers and breeders as a result of the exploitation of residues.
- The SYLFEED project will allow fish farmers to get more competitive and sustainable products.
- Savings in terms of water and fertilizers consumption as well as of land use in comparison with the current animal feed production.
- Stronger food chain security
- Proven cost-efficient value chain and economically attractive protein production at industrial scale facilitating market acceptance and uptake of the developed products