Driving down costs for fermentation ingredients: Recommendations from techno-economic data
Event description
Fermentation-derived (FD) ingredients are gaining momentum in the alternative protein sector, offering the promise of cost-competitive, great-tasting products that can enhance our food system’s sustainability. But what are the economic realities behind the potential?
Join us as we unpack the findings from a new report—the most comprehensive analysis to date of the cost competitiveness and cost drivers of FD ingredients, including biomass proteins, precision fermentation-derived proteins, and microbial lipids.
This webinar will explore ingredient cost competitiveness, reveal strategies for reducing production costs, and spotlight the critical data gaps still facing the field. Whether you’re a policymaker, investor, entrepreneur, or researcher, this session will provide actionable insights to guide R&D, inform policy, and accelerate progress toward cost parity and commercial scale.
Meet the speakers
Lucas Eastham, MSc
LEAD SCIENTIST, FERMENTATION
THE GOOD FOOD INSTITUTE
Lucas works with the SciTech team to analyze the technical landscape for proteins and ingredients derived from microbial fermentation, identify key challenges, and articulate solutions to accelerate the industry. Before GFI, Lucas spent ten years at Algenol Biotech commercializing microbial-derived biofuels, biofertilizers, food ingredients, and cosmetic ingredients. His expertise ranges across the bioprocess commercialization spectrum from strain development, cultivation process development (USP), downstream process development (DSP), commercialization, and GMP operations. Lucas holds a B.S. in Biology and Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.S. in Environmental Science and Management from Duquesne University.
Adam Leman, PhD
PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST, FERMENTATION
THE GOOD FOOD INSTITUTE
Adam is a Principal Scientist, Fermentation at GFI and is focused on the development of biomass fermentation and precision fermentation biotechnology for food protein. He earned a B.S. in Molecular Genetics from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. from Drexel University College of Medicine in Molecular Biology. Adam’s postdoctoral studies concentrated on fungal genetics and systems biology. During his time in biotech, Adam implemented gene expression analyses in microbial, agtech, and human health studies to better characterize these systems and offer a deeper understanding for strain development and process improvement.
Adrienne McKee, PhD
PARTNER
HAWKWOOD BIOTECH PARTNERS
Adrienne McKee is a Partner at Hawkwood Biotech, a team dedicated to supporting all aspects of the industrial biotech space. Over the course of 15 years in the sector, she has led teams to commercialize oils, biomass, and other products made through fermentation. Working closely with the techno-economic modeling team at Hawkwood, Adrienne helps clients to develop and refine their innovation and commercialization strategies. She holds a PhD in Systems Biology from Harvard University.
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