A new £35m centre for the development of alternative proteins has been launched in the UK.
The National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC), co-funded by UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Innovate UK and a host of academic partners, will be responsible for developing “tasty, planet-friendly animal protein alternatives”.
UKRI said: “Spanning the entire alternative protein supply chain, the centre will foster innovation across a variety of protein sources, from plant-based proteins and lab-grown meats to protein-rich algae.”
Mainstreaming of protein alternatives will be key to achieving the UK’s net-zero goals and future-proofing food and animal feed security in the UK.
BBSRC and Innovate UK have invested £15m into the centre, which will be directed by the University of Leeds and co-led by Imperial College London, the James Hutton Institute and the University of Sheffield. More than 100 UK and international stakeholders, including the academic partners, have also committed £19.3m of co-investment and support.
Transitioning to healthy, sustainable sources of protein is a pressing global challenge. NAPIC will help facilitate this transition by supporting researchers and industry in all parts of the process from product design through to consumer acceptance.
A strategy for alternative proteins will also be developed to take them from the discovery and innovation phase, right through to commercialisation.
There will also be research into boosting public acceptance of proteins derived from these sources by addressing concerns over taste, nutritional value, cost, safety and fears about diminished livelihoods for traditional farmers.
Analysis by the Green Alliance think tank in 2023 showed that, with the right combination of targeted investments and regulation, the UK alternative proteins industry could be worth up to £6.8 billion annually and create 25,000 jobs by 2035.
The report, ‘Appetite for change’, notes: “A thriving UK sector offers high productivity jobs, not only in research, manufacturing and production, but also in farming. At least 4,000 of the potential 25,000 jobs created could be in traditional farming and food production.”
The UK has several sources of competitive advantage, said Green Alliance, including some of the world’s highest food quality and safety standards, significant consumer demand for alternative protein products, a strong science base and a burgeoning domestic industry to build upon.
It is believed NAPIC could help the sector achieve its full potential. However, Green Alliance suggested £250m was required in nascent research and production clusters in Teesside and the ‘Golden Triangle’, centred on Cambridge, Oxford and London. These clusters should also be developed to link up UK farmers, crop scientists and producers to expand the supply chain, the think tank said, with the government also connecting alternative protein development with public health goals.
