Biotech Heights creates solutions for a more sustainable food production
Biotech Heights i Lund works to create sustainable food solutions through innovation in bioprocess and fermentation technology. This means, among other things, working on the use of microorganisms and fermentation to produce products for different application areas, such as the development of new foods or the enrichment of other products with protein. The innovation platform Biotech Heights has been launched by Lund University, Tetra Pak and Future by Lund but many more actors will be involved in the future.
- We need to help in this — academia, industry and the public sector, says Emma Nordell, project manager at Lund University. Cooperation is necessary because the issue is so broad. The interest in Biotech Heights from students, researchers, government agencies and startups is huge, and I think we have great timing. A lot is already happening, and on our wish list are more projects with larger Swedish food companies.
Several projects have already been launched in cooperation with the Innovation Platform. In “Test med seaweed”, researchers at Lund University are working with Arwa Foodtech to make a product from baobab fruits in which protein content and taste are enhanced by adding healthy fermented seaweed. And in “Potentialen med potatoen” there is a collaboration with Orkla to use potato spills from french fries production as fertilizer for microorganisms, and in a way to produce protein.
The Innovation Platform works with technology development, but also with other challenges. The project “An Economic Experiment on Consumer Behavior” will investigate why consumers do not buy more plant-based products. One student group from the School of Economics has done a survey of what biotech foods are called in different markets, another has looked at different countries' national strategies for plant-based foods. In addition, the Vinnova-funded podcast Reactor Revolution is currently being prepared, which will be broadcast in the spring. This is a future cooking program that takes place on an estate in Skåne.
- Imagine that it is the year 2045, that the bioreactor is the most talked about innovation in world food production and that Sweden has emerged as a leading nation in microbial agriculture, says Emma Nordell. Reactor Revolution aims to create an experience that helps the listener break down negative beliefs about biotechnology-based food.
Lund University has been prominent in both biotechnology and food technology for many years. Through Biotech Heights, research results can be disseminated to more people while further stakeholders can be involved in projects.
The collaboration has also contributed to several major technical research projects. In the EU project “Bioneer”, researchers in Lund will investigate how to scale up certain products for the food industry, in the Vinnova project “Unity4water” we will test how to reduce water use in bioprocesses by recirculating the water, and SSF (Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research) has funded a project looking at the steps before and after a bioprocess.
In addition, Biotech Heights works near the Lund University Prepilot Plant located at Kemicentrum and has processes for scale-up.
- In order for this industry to develop, more opportunities are needed to scale up research results from the labs to industrial scale, explains Emma Nordell. There is a global lack of infrastructure in which this can be done. We have fantastic environments at LTH for this and that we want to develop both for more research collaborations and so that more people can use the premises during the hours that they are not used for research and education.
What do you think we'll eat in the future?
- It is important to emphasize that the new food goes hand in hand with the regular food production. I think that in the future we will eat new things, but still in a way similar to how we eat today. The meat we buy in the future is that which is of good quality and produced in a good way while we have new plant products that can replace what is not so good. There will also be more hybrid products that include both meat and plants. Our ambition is to make the plant-based products even better and take advantage of the side currents in a good way,” concludes Emma Nordell.
More about Biotech Heights
Biotech Heights is one of eight Vinnova-funded innovation platforms and Tetra Pak, Lund University and Future by Lund are project partners. Tetra Pak is known as a manufacturer of equipment and materials for packaging in the food industry, but also offers expertise in food preparation.
The Biotech Heights innovation platform was launched in December 2024 and the first stage will run until the summer of 2025. After that, there are possibilities for extension in two stages for another 3 ½ years.
This first phase is a mobilization phase in which many plans are made, and even there, there are many balls that are put into rolling. It is about identifying both the present and future dream state, determining what may seem like levers and creating both national and international connectivity, and more.
At Biotech Heights, innovation in bioprocess and fermentation technologies is driven to create sustainable food solutions. Bioprocess technologies have great potential in several industries, both by offering plant-based alternatives to animal products, increasing the nutritional value of foods, raising the value of sidestreams, and providing alternatives to fossil-based feedstock.