🇫🇮 Millions of funding for Finnish bioeconomy research and development projects

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Business Finland has granted a total of EUR 10 million in R&D funding for two Finnish projects engaged in international bioeconomy research cooperation. The projects have been approved for participation in the Global Centers research program, led by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and jointly operated by six countries, which seeks breakthrough solutions to global challenges.

Each year, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) hosts thematic international Global Center programs. This year, the program’s funding call focused on the bioeconomy, with the main themes being bio foundries and biodiversity. The Global Centers funding call, which was organized by six countries (USA, Canada, Finland, UK, Republic of Korea, Japan), received 53 high-quality consortium applications, ten of which involved Finnish partners.

The applications were evaluated by an international panel and the best were submitted for review by the funders’ meeting. The funders’ meeting recommended six 5-year Global Centers project consortia for funding.  Three Finnish consortia made it to the Global Centers program, two of which will receive funding from Business Finland. All Finnish consortia are also funded by the Research Council of Finland.

The success of Finnish project proposals in tough international competition and access to the US National Science Foundation’s research programs shows that we are sought-after R&D partners in addressing global challenges.

“The success of Finnish project proposals in tough international competition and access to the US National Science Foundation’s research programs shows that we are sought-after R&D partners in addressing global challenges. Long-term national funding also plays an important role in this, as it is expected that these projects will produce breakthrough solutions for the international market in the future,” says Executive Director Timo Metsä-Tokila from Business Finland.

NSF will fund each Global Centers project with USD 5 million (around EUR 4.6 million). In addition to the six Global Centers projects, NSF decided to fund four Proof of Concept projects with USD 2 million each (around EUR 1.8 million).

Business Finland funding for two Global Centers projects

On 23 October 2024, Business Finland decided to fund two Finnish projects approved for the Global Centers program coordinated by VTT. Aalto University and the University of Helsinki are also participating in the projects.

FinBioFAB is a pioneering initiative aimed at revolutionizing biomanufacturing

The Finnish BioFoundry for Advanced Biomanufacturing, FinBioFAB will collaborate with global biofoundries and Finnish industry leaders. The project seeks to harness the power of synthetic biology and AI to create efficient cell factories. These factories will produce biodegradable plastics and protein-based materials for various industries, contributing to a greener economy.

In FinBioFAB, VTT will collaborate closely with the industrial partners Neste, Onego Bio, AB Enzymes Finland, Solar Foods and UPM.

  • AB Enzymes Finland will provide its market knowledge on industrial enzymes and requirements for host strain engineering. The company has already established selected biofoundry elements in product development, and those will be further developed within the project.
  • Solar Foods‘ first product is Solein protein and food products made from it have already been available in Singapore. Production takes place in a bioreactor, where carbon dioxide and hydrogen made with renewable electricity are fed to grow the production organism. This enables food production without arable land with very little environmental impact. In addition to Solein protein, Solar Foods’ hydrogen fermentation platform enables the production of countless new products from electricity and carbon dioxide by changing the production organism. In the project, the production organisms found by Solar Foods in Finnish nature are developed and modified to produce food and materials as energy-efficiently as possible, products which are currently still of animal origin.

The project is part of the Global Center Reliable and Scalable Biofoundries for Biomanufacturing and Global Bioeconomy program, which includes partners from the US, UK, Japan, and Republic of Korea.

The FoodID project diversifies the global food system

The FoodID project develops new sustainable processes based on the production of alternative proteins and lipids from plants and by fermentation. Digital tools play a central role in FoodID, and the project utilizes global networks of academic and industry partners, maximizing the impact and exploitation of the results. In Finland, VTT, University of Helsinki, Fazer, Valio, MeEat, Enifer and Onego Bio are involved in the FoodID RDI activities.

The three-year project is coordinated by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Finnish partners are financed by Business Finland and the Research Council of Finland. The project is part of NSF’s Proof of Concept projects and the Food 2.0 leading company program funded by Business Finland led by Valio.

  • Fazer Confectionery Ltd. The goal of the project is to research alternatives for future sustainable raw material sources.  Fazer is committed to combating climate change, and at the same time the company acknowledges that the traditional cocoa-growing areas near the equator are threatened by climate change and that cocoa farming may become increasingly challenging in the future. Research focuses on pioneering ingredients and products: cocoa alternatives, healthier and more sustainable solutions (sugar replacement) and the potential of fermentation-based technologies. This project examines established processing methods that yield tasty, healthy, and sustainably produced raw materials for confectionery production. Efficient use of materials and circular economy concepts will also be crucial in future food systems. The project also includes a work package focused on identifying ways to better comprehend future consumer behaviour and regulatory development across different markets.
  • Valio is developing food solutions combining microbially produced food components with traditional ingredients and circular economy solutions by side-stream valorisation. Their research focuses on how sensory and nutritional quality can be improved in hybrid solutions. They aim to further understand consumer acceptability and feasibility of the new foods. They will continue collaboration with Enifer on mycoprotein as a protein- and fiber-rich food ingredient as well as other existing and newly initiated collaborations in the field.
  • MeEat is developing new technologies for the development of Finnish fermented fava bean. A research project is developing new technologies to harness the potential of Finnish fermented fava bean. The goal of the project is to meet the growing consumer demand for new plant-based protein and to offer innovative raw material alternatives for the food industry. The project leverages the expertise of Finnish research institutions, and the global academic and industrial networks established through the FoodID project.
  • Enifer´s goal is to investigate more deeply the nutritional and functional properties of the PEKILO mycoprotein ingredient developed by the company, as well as developing technology to modify them.
  • Onego Bio produces egg white protein without chickens using precise fermentation. Onego’s highly scalable technology meets the growing needs of the food industry and has a 90% smaller environmental footprint compared to conventional egg production. In this project, Onego Bio, in cooperation with VTT, investigates the processing and utilization of food industry side streams as feedstock in its fermentation process. The utilization of side stream biomass has the potential to further improve the sustainability of the production of alternative proteins and to increase the circularity and efficiency in the food system.

In addition to these projects, the Research Council of Finland is funding a research project at the University of Vaasa that is related to the Global Centers consortium Alliance for Socially-acceptable & Actionable Plants.

For more information, see VTT’s press release.

Further information about NSF programs

Dr Ilmari Absetz, Chief Funding Advisor
Business Finland
firstname.lastname (at) businessfinland.fi

Originally published on 28 October by Business Finland.

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