Project description
Using residual waste to feed farmed fish
The rapidly rising demand for food has resulted in an increase in aquaculture production. In turn, the volume of fish feed required has also increased. Farmed fish need protein-rich feed that derives from fishmeal, soybeans and dried brewers' yeast. However, the above solutions are low-protein and they are not sustainable. The EU-funded Promyc project proposes an entirely biological circular process based on the growth of different kinds of filamentous fungi. The solution uses residual waste flow from food, agriculture, pulp and paper. The proposal is supported by major Swedish food innovation companies, is cost-effective, rich in protein and safe, and can successfully replace existing fish feed. The solution is listed in MIT Technology Review among 10 technologies able to combat climate change.
Objective
By 2050 the global demand for food will have increased by as much as 70% driven by the growing population & massive exodus from poverty. Food production is not a sustainable industry even today.
Rapid income growth means increasing demand for meat & fish, which puts additional pressure on the food industry. Aquaculture (fish farming) has seen one of the steepest production increases in the last decades, as the global fish catch has peaked. This growth, in turn, drives the growth of the fish feed production—its global production grew by extra 161m tons in 2016 & projected to reach 1bn tons by 2020.
Farmed fish require protein-rich feed as well. The most widely used sources today of protein are fishmeal, soybeans or dried brewers’ yeast. However, their protein content is low (~40%) & they are neither sustainable nor scalable.
We have developed & patented purely biological circular process to grow filamentous fungi of various strains using residual waste streams from food, agriculture, pulp & paper as well as other industries. Our 1st result is Promyc—a sustainable & cost-effective replacement to protein from fishmeal & soybean for aquaculture feed formulations. It is rich in protein & vegan; it is produced via a fully sustainable, scalable, cost-efficient process. It is also safe—the fungal strains we use are benign & have the GRAS status of the US FDA.
We are supported by major Swedish food innovation companies such as Oatly (SE) & other food producers. Our solution area is listed under 10 technologies that could combat climate change by the MIT Technology Review.
Given sufficient financial capital & successful upscaling, we expect to be profitable in 2023, reaching ~€19m in revenues by 2024 & employing 62 FTEs.
Fields of science
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesfisheries
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologymycology
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
411 29 GOETEBORG
Sweden
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.