UK government invests £15 million in new National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC) to commercialise alternative proteins

The UK government is investing £15 million in an innovation hub to accelerate the commercialisation of plant-based, cultivated and fermentation-made foods.

Today’s announcement by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK – two of the UK’s largest government funding bodies – will see the establishment of the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC), with an additional £23 million coming from public and private sector partners.

The new centre, hosted by the University of Leeds and co-led with the James Hutton Institute, the University of Sheffield, and Imperial College London, aims to develop innovative products and ingredients from innovation to commercialisation while investigating how consumers can integrate these foods into their diets.

It will also focus on using these techniques to develop more sustainable animal feed and aquaculture.

NAPIC currently comprises more than 30 interdisciplinary researchers from the four institutions and 120 international partners, who will work closely with businesses, academia, regulators, and investors, focusing on four key knowledge pillars:

• The PRODUCE pillar will enable partners to produce alternative protein ingredients and finished products of optimum functional, sensorial and nutritional quality while addressing concerns about ultra-processed foods and assisting a just transition for producers.
• PROCESS aims to accelerate the scaling up of cultivated meat and precision fermentation using artificial intelligence (AI) guided models, acting as a catalyst for partners commercialising these foods.
• PERFORM aims to ensure that these foods meet consumer expectations regarding taste, texture and nutrition while safeguarding public health. 
• PEOPLE will focus on affordability, accessibility and acceptability, guiding consumers’ dietary transition towards these foods, and providing new training and business opportunities for UK farmers and businesses.

Nonprofit and think tank the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) said that this funding pushed the UK’s total government investment in alternative proteins to more than £91 million (€103 million) and clearly demonstrated the country’s continued commitment to developing this cutting-edge area of science and food production.

Significant recent UK public investments have included the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funding the Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA) led by the University of Bath, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding the Microbial Food Hub led by Imperial College London.

Linus Pardoe, UK Policy Manager at the Good Food Institute Europe, said: “It is welcome to see the UK government making another significant investment in alternative proteins, bringing together scientific and business experts to accelerate the development of foods that can help boost our food security and create new green jobs.

“With consumers and agriculture at the heart of a transition towards alternative proteins, it’s hugely important that the centre focuses on ensuring these foods meet people’s expectations around taste, price and nutrition, as well as enabling British farmers to benefit from new opportunities in this growing sector.”

“NAPIC is a truly pan-UK centre with global reach and our mission is to be an ‘innovation enabler’ for rapidly evolving alternative protein industries, delivering a universally healthy, acceptable, accessible, eco-friendly food system by harnessing the UK’s world-class science.

“We have an exceptional, interdisciplinary leadership team with world-recognised competencies in food science, microbiology, biochemistry, engineering biology, nutrition, data science, economics, agribusiness, environmental science, consumer science and psychology. 

“NAPIC’s ambition is to develop a clear roadmap for safe and healthy alternative-rich foods, feeds and breakthrough technology translation through creating start-ups and new businesses while enabling consumer and farmer acceptance. Our ambition is further reinforced by effective and efficient collaboration with businesses, regulators, academia, policymakers, and investors who are from the inception and we look forward to working together with consumers to producers to create a blended protein economy.”