A disruptive cost-efficient industrial technology using bioreactor to boost compounds yields in roots, shoots, leaves for agri-food, flavors, biopesticides

Project Information

AlkFood

Grant agreement ID: 809764

DOI

10.3030/809764

Project closed

EC signature date 31 January 2018

Start date 1 February 2018

End date 30 June 2018

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

ALKION BIOINNOVATIONS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AlkFood (A disruptive cost-efficient industrial technology using bioreactor to boost compounds yields in roots, shoots, leaves for agri-food, flavors, biopesticides)

Reporting period: 2018-02-01 to 2018-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In modern society, our current food & beverages consumption, heavily based on industrial products, tends to increase the rates of obesity, diabetes, Nash syndromes and other serious nutritional diseases in the population.
If strong progresses have been made on the curative side, preventive solutions lack of innovation, investment, and world collaboration.
In particular, the largest beverages companies have decided to double the quantity of natural sweeteners in their products but as of today, they can not find industrial solution to supply high quality natural sweeteners with the perfect taste.
Stevia Rebaudiana receives a strong demand despite its licorice after-taste and its potential effect on microbiome which slowed down its commercial progression. An alternative to Stevia is more and more demanded.

Obesity, Diabetes and Nash syndrome not only represent a cost of €100 billions worldwide for the health costs but also people suffer pains, contraints, social exclusion which could be reduced or controlled with smart exploitation of natural solutions.

To offer these alternative industrial natural solutions, Alkion has decided to work on a non-bitter Stevia but also has selected three exotic plants which contain powerful harmless natural sweet proteins that can not be industrially exploited due to extremely low production yield and difficult access to the plant.
Its R&D team, supported by a European scientific community, is developing a non-GMO protocole and an large-scale industrial production device to produce and supply these natural food sweeteners.
Our patented technologies achieve an exceptional production yield compared to classical solutions, making accessible the plant super-capacities when they are trained and developed in the best culture conditions without genetic modification.
The team expects to launch with international partners new natural affordable sweeteners to support the European objectives of diabetes & obesity decrease.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

- Context, business opportunity
- Risks analysis (operational risks, regulatory risks, technological risks)
- Performances of the technology
- Competition (Competitors, competitive technologies, competitive products)
- Costs of production (calculus in lab, pre-industrial, large volume)
- Technology improvements
- Definition of the new Biorefinery (cryopreservation, cultivation, bioreactor, extraction, purification,
wastes recycling)
- Costs and Risks of the new Biorefinery
- ProductsDistribution
- Business Plan :
- Analysis of the context, business opportunity
- Analysis of risks (operational risks, regulatory risks, technological risks)
- Performances of the technology (EF)
- Analysis of the competition (Competitors, competitive technologies, competitive products)
- Analysis of the costs of production (calculus in lab, pre-industrial, large volume)
- Analysis of technology improvements
- Design of the new Biorefinery (cryopreservation, cultivation, bioreactor, extraction, purification, wastes
recycling)
- Analysis of costs and risks of the new Biorefinery
- Conclusion(SMB)

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

In term of biological R&D, we are developing new in-vitro ways to express genes in various tissues to produce differently our natural sweeteners in exotic plants using a very large panel of brand new strategies, but also we are working to develop novel more performing strains for the plants we are using. It will set a new reference for the bioproduction of compounds using non-GMO solutions.

In term of industrial tools, we are the world first company to achieve an autonomous 300-liters bioreactor, which will be extend to a 1000-liters one, supported by robotics.
The project attracts already investors and large corporates players. With positive results, we will have access to 80% of the top 50 global food & beverages companies.

Our potential impacts will be the validation of 3 to 4 new natural sweeteners to offer and sell them to the food & beverages industry.
It could have an important impact on the sugar reduction in beverages and therefore on obesity and diabetes.

After We expect also to apply our technologies and industrial production tools to artificial flavors and replace them by affordable natural ones.

Bioreactors