Discover how a artificial protein can change agriculture forever. Is humanity ready for microbes to take over from cows? Let's see it!
What is Solar Foods?
We recently talked about how Coca-Cola plans to transform its carbon emissions CO2 in sugar. This initiative has precedents such as the Finnish company Solar Foods. It is an entity that has developed a yellowish powder with a texture similar to that of flour that contains between 60 and 70% protein. The striking thing is that to achieve it, you only need hydrogen y carbon dioxide.
Just like you just read. The company's researchers have designed a process of about 70 hours of duration. During this they extract a sample of soil from which they take the microbes best suited for the task. These pass into a bioreactor, where air fermentation takes place. However, this has nothing to do with the transformation of sugar into alcohol in wine. Instead, microbes transform CO2 and hydrogen in water into this dust called solein.
How to get artificial protein?
For this, it is necessary to feed the microorganisms with nutrients present in the earth as calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. Once they are finished with their food, they are centrifuged out of the resulting liquid. This is transformed into the versatile powder that the article is about. The most striking thing about the case is that with a single drop of water we can get a kilo of Solein.
Nothing to do with beef, which requires 1.000 liters per kilo, or the rice, which requires 2.500. The advantages it brings in environmental terms are spectacular. It should be noted that its developers have used hydraulic energy to generate the electricity necessary for the process. The doctor Vainikka, co-founder and CEO, says that "the key discovery was that electricity will be the primary energy if we want to do something for the climate system."
So, a born artificial protein which actually comes from single-celled organisms. Its nutritional properties are striking, since they also stand out for the presence of vitamins B12, the one that worries vegans the most, and B9. It also contains minerals with which it will enrich foods that contain Solein as an ingredient. However, not everything is perfect.
Despite its versatility, the consistency is not the most suitable for all kinds of food. For example, it cannot be whipped to a thick, creamy texture. Nor does it produce the level level of elasticity than wheat flour by adding water due to the lack of gluten. However, Solar Foods is already looking to implement it in the food industry. meat substitutes. In addition, they also want to develop other products based on this technology in the future. In this way they enriched the gastronomic panorama.
not everything is so easy
We must clarify that it is not yet possible to buy this artificial protein. First of all, it is due to the rigorous health controls that must be passed by the health authorities of different countries. At the moment they have already presented it to the authorities of United Kingdom and European Union. The next step will be to raise funds to build a large factory the size of a football field to produce on a large scale.
It has also been a case study for the NASA compo part of Deep Space Food Challenge. Solar Foods entered the contest with the technology needed to ferment gas in space. The company was among the first places in phase one of the competition. However, however the space adventure ends, your primary objective is feed all mankind And not just astronauts. We will be very aware of his next moves.
