Novonesis & DTU to Convert Carbon Into Protein As Part of Bill Gates-Backed Project

Why It Matters

By turning captured CO2 into high‑protein food ingredients, the project could slash reliance on fossil‑based agriculture and open a scalable, climate‑friendly protein source for the global food system.

Key Takeaways

• Novonesis partners DTU Bright to turn CO2 into protein.
• Project targets acetate‑based fermentation, improving microbial tolerance.
• Backed by Gates and Novo Nordisk Foundations’ $55 M fund.
• Aims for >40% protein content using 100% acetate.
• Supports Europe’s bioeconomy and climate‑neutral food production.

Pulse Analysis

The gas‑protein arena is rapidly moving from niche research to commercial reality, with companies like Solar Foods, Unibio, and Air Protein already delivering acetate‑derived proteins to market. These ventures capitalize on the fact that carbon‑rich gases, traditionally viewed as waste, can be fermented into single‑cell proteins that rival conventional animal and plant sources in nutrition. As governments tighten emissions targets, the ability to monetize captured CO2 offers both environmental and economic incentives, positioning microbial protein as a cornerstone of the emerging circular bioeconomy.

Novonesis’s partnership with DTU’s Bright Biofoundry tackles the most stubborn technical hurdle: acetate tolerance. While many microbes thrive on glucose, acetate is a harsh substrate that slows growth and limits yields. By leveraging Bright’s high‑throughput automated evolution platform, the team can iterate thousands of strain variants per week, accelerating the discovery of yeast and fungal lines that consume acetate faster, survive higher concentrations, and convert carbon into protein more efficiently. This rapid, data‑driven approach compresses years of lab work into months, making industrial‑scale deployment more feasible.

Financial backing of roughly $55 million from the Gates and Novo Nordisk Foundations underscores the strategic importance of CO2‑to‑protein technology. Investors see a dual‑value proposition: a climate‑positive feedstock and a high‑margin protein product for food, feed, and specialty ingredients. If the consortium meets its target of >40% protein yields, it could reshape supply chains, reduce pressure on arable land, and provide a resilient protein source against climate disruptions. The next few years will test whether these engineered microbes can deliver cost‑competitive products at scale, a milestone that could trigger broader adoption across the food and agriculture sectors.