PROFIT
Climate-friendly proteins for the future
Imagine a world where organic waste can be turned into new products that benefit the climate, environment, economy and the green transition.
PROFIT is a pioneering Danish research project, supported by Innovation Fund Denmark, working to realize this vision.
We are a strong group of researchers, industry specialists and knowledge institutions that will pave the way from idea to action by demonstrating how Copenhagen's green household waste can be turned into nutritious feed protein.
The PROFIT project will address the biotechnological, process technological, economic and societal challenges that currently stand in the way of the protein revolution the world needs to meet the ever-increasing demand for protein.
Need for new solutions
By 2050, the world will need to produce around 1,250 million tons of meat and dairy products per year to meet global demand1. This will increase the demand for feed ingredients.
Traditional animal feed production requires high land and water consumption, is sensitive to climate change and impacts the environment. Therefore, new and innovative solutions are needed.
ThePROFIT project will therefore demonstrate how bacteria can be used to convert biogas from organic waste into nutritious feed protein. By using organic waste to produce feed ingredients, we can contribute to solving the climate and environmental challenges associated with animal feed production today.
From food waste to added value
In Denmark, there is an increasing focus on the collection of organic waste for recycling. The roll-out of waste schemes and increased focus on sorting has increased the amount of organic waste from households from 23,000 tons in 2011 to 220,000 tons in 20212.
The increasing amounts of organic waste create great opportunities for initiatives like ours that rely on large amounts of biogas to scale production.
Today, organic waste is converted into biogas, which is burned for electricity and heat production. The residues from biogas production are used as compost fertilizer in the fields.
The PROFIT project's vision is to utilize organic waste far more efficiently than is currently possible.
Our researchers have developed a method using cutting-edge biotechnology that uses microorganisms to convert organic waste into feed protein with high nutritional value and low land and water consumption.
By recycling organic waste more efficiently than today, we not only reduce resource waste, but also contribute to a circular economy where resources are not only better utilized, but upgraded into new products with a higher value.
When we upgrade organic waste into new and more valuable products, we can both strengthen the economy and reduce pressure on the earth's resources, benefiting the environment, climate and the green transition.
A protein revolution
According to Boland et al. (2013), the growing demand for meat and dairy protein will require improvements in livestock production and a greater openness to new protein sources, both for animal feed and food.
Because plant protein is inefficiently converted into meat protein (approximately 6 kg of plant protein is needed to produce 1 kg of meat protein), increasing meat production to match the growing demand will not be sustainable3. A protein revolution is needed!
Single Cell Protein (SCP) - protein produced by microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, fungi or algae - has enormous potential as a sustainable protein source for feed and food.
The market for SCP is estimated to exceed $18.5 billion by 2036.
SCP is produced in production facilities that, unlike traditional agriculture, are not sensitive to the seasons and can produce year-round.
The protein content of meat is generally around 45%, while in milk it is around 25% and in soybeans around 35%. SCP has a protein content of 50-80% and therefore has the potential to revolutionize the future of feed and food production4.
The production of SCP requires far less land and water consumption, but on the other hand requires large amounts of energy, which in the long term must come from green energy.
The high energy consumption, expensive construction costs and the lack of efficient process technology mean that the production of SCP is currently more expensive than traditional feed production.
The compost, which is the residual product from SCP production, is not wasted. Using electrolysis, nitrogen and phosphorus can be extracted, which are essential nutrients for the production of fertilizers and a range of other products.
The compost residue can then be spread on fields to improve soil quality.
Plant-based protein sources, such as beans, are nutritionally valuable protein sources, but require agricultural land and water - resources that will become limiting as we try to meet the global demand for protein.
PROFIT will demonstrate how SCP can meet the challenges of future animal production by showing how SCP can be scaled to become a real alternative to the way feed ingredients are produced today.
SCP has a number of advantages that make the technology a potential game changer for the industry, but there is a lot of work to be done in selecting new bacterial strains suitable for large-scale production and developing process technologies that can make production as cost-effective as possible.
There are also a number of regulatory barriers to proteins produced by microorganisms. However, these may be reduced in the coming years as both Denmark and the EU increase their focus on biosolutions and the use of so-called regulatory sandboxes, where new solutions can be tested and find their way to the market faster.
We see opportunities in the big challenges
PROFIT is a collaboration between six competent partners who contribute with the necessary technical, research and organizational skills to achieve our ambitions. Behind us is Innovation Fund Denmark, which is funding the project.
Amager Ressourcecenter (ARC)
Manages waste collection in the Municipality of Copenhagen, reaching almost 1 million waste collections in 2023. Contributes with expertise in waste collection and incentives to upgrade organic waste.
DTU (Technical University of Denmark)
Provides technological expertise and physical laboratories - including research and development within scaling and development of SCP, as well as qualification of the economic and process technology challenges.
Knowledge Hub Zealand
Provides project coordination and communication, as well as facilitating knowledge sharing between the partners.
Københavns Kommune
Contributes with incentives and information about the societal value of upgrading organic waste to SCP.
Roskilde University
Contributes with expert knowledge and studies of the regulatory opportunities and obstacles of SCP production for animal feed, as well as the benefits of SCP for the major consumers of feed ingredients, including agriculture.
Unibio A/S
Provides economic and process technology expertise in the production and scaling of microbial proteins.
Together we will show how innovative solutions can turn our biggest challenges into opportunities. By transforming the increasing amounts of organic waste into new resources, we take an important step towards a more sustainable and responsible future and help position Denmark as a frontrunner in biotechnology.
Funded by
Project period
June 2023 - May 2027
Project partners
Contact us
Irini Angelidaki
Professor
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Department of Chemical Engineering
Email: iria@kt.dtu.dk
Eva Sass Lauritsen
Senior Project Manager
Knowledge Hub Zealand
Email: evsl@kalundborg.dk
Phone: +45 21 73 53 40
Relevant links