Fermentation-derived ingredient techno-economics: policy insights
Protein made via biomass fermentation is nearing cost-competiveness with current mainstream sources of protein. Smart policy mechanisms can further drive down costs to enhance food system resilience and scale U.S. biomanufacturing capabilities.
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Scaling fermentation-derived protein production unlocks biomanufacturing and national security benefits
Fermentation—the process of leveraging microbes to produce high-value products—has long been used in the pharmaceutical and fuel industries to produce goods like insulin and ethanol.
Our recent fermentation techno-economic model meta-analysis shows that producing proteins via biomass fermentation is nearing cost-competitiveness with incumbent protein sources, including beef and pork. The analysis also shows multiple tunable cost drivers, charting a clear path to additional cost reduction. Advancements across feedstock processing, raw materials, and innovative financing for capital expenditures will further lower costs, leading to affordable, high-quality protein biomanufacturing platforms that can be leveraged for domestic production, defense, and national security objectives.
Fermentation-derived protein production is flexible and efficient
- Equipment used for biomanufacturing food is transferable to other types of industrial goods. The same production facility may produce food, fuels, and fibers and have the ability to ramp up and transfer production based on demand.
- Producing proteins via fermentation has the potential to diversify our food system, leading to improved supply chain stability, new economic opportunities, a reduction in food waste, and enhanced national security.
- Fermentation companies can leverage a diversity of feedstocks, including agricultural sidestreams that create new market opportunities for U.S. farmers and gaseous feedstocks that allow for production in low-resource settings such as conflict or disaster zones.
Existing policy tools can drive down costs and unlock scale
- Loan and loan guarantee programs
- Grants, voucher programs, and tax incentives
- Investments in public-private fermentation hubs
- Incorporation of fermentation-derived proteins into public procurement channels
- Open-access research
Resource
Techno-economic insights on fermentation ingredients
This report analyzes the competitiveness and key cost drivers of fermentation-derived ingredients, and identifies critical data gaps.
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