Horizon Europe Synfeed Project: Synthetic proteins for sustainable animal feed
- Type Project
- Status Firmado
- Execution 2025 -2029
- Assigned Budget 3.079.962,5 €
- Scope Europeo
- Main source of financing Horizonte Europa 2021-2027
- Project website Proyecto SYNFEED
Half of the protein used to feed livestock is wasted due to incomplete digestibility and differences in amino acid profiles between plants and animals. This inefficiency contributes to environmental pollution. Furthermore, the EU relies heavily on imported soybean meal, at a cost of €1.5 billion annually, as it struggles to secure sufficient protein sources for animal feed. To address these problems, the European Innovation Council (EIC)-funded SYNFEED project will develop a novel interdisciplinary technological approach.
The project will use precision nutrition, protein engineering, cell-free systems, and fermentation to produce highly digestible, tailored proteins, thereby reducing environmental impact and dependence on imported raw materials. The project will demonstrate this solution in broiler chickens as the first model and will promote EU leadership in the sustainable production of biosynthetic proteins.
Using the broiler chicken as a model, SYNFEED
- It will generate new knowledge of precision nutrition (the ratio of amino acids to meet the requirements and the dynamics of protein hydrolysis in target species).
- You will design several candidate sequences using this nutritional information using protein engineering techniques (combining AI and molecular modeling).
- Generate these candidates in acellular systems adapted to the final host and evaluate them using a novel iterative procedure that maximizes expression and digestibility potential.
- Optimize the sustainable biosynthesis of the selected protein with sustainable hydrogen-oxidizing bacterial strains.
- To evaluate the protein's efficacy in broiler chickens (productive performance, animal health and welfare, and reduction of nitrogen losses) and the sustainability of the SYNFEED solution through a life cycle analysis.
Half of the protein intended for animal feed is wasted due to incomplete protein digestibility and the different amino acid profiles found in both plants and animals. This creates serious pollution problems for our soils, aquifers, and atmosphere (for example, livestock farming contributes 87% of total ammonia emissions in agriculture).
Furthermore, the EU faces significant challenges in providing adequate sources of protein for animal feed (97% of soybean meal is imported; €1.5 billion annually). Therefore, it is imperative to identify a sustainable solution for animal protein supply. SYNFEED will demonstrate that by developing a new interdisciplinary technological approach, it is possible to generate proteins that can produce a radical paradigm shift in the way animals are fed, greatly reducing both the environmental impact and external dependence on EU raw materials.
Using the broiler chicken as a model, SYNFEED:
- It will generate new knowledge of precision nutrition (the ratio of amino acids to meet the requirements and the dynamics of protein hydrolysis in target species).
- You will design several candidate sequences using this nutritional information using protein engineering techniques (combining AI and molecular modeling).
- Generate these candidates in acellular systems adapted to the final host and evaluate them using a novel iterative procedure that maximizes expression and digestibility potential.
- Optimize the sustainable biosynthesis of the selected protein with sustainable hydrogen-oxidizing bacterial strains.
- To evaluate the protein's efficacy in broiler chickens (productive performance, animal health and welfare, and reduction of nitrogen losses) and the sustainability of the SYNFEED solution through a life cycle analysis.
This innovative approach will replace conventional animal feed, positioning the EU as a leader in the generation of biosynthetic proteins, promoting the emergence of biotechnology companies, and reducing the environmental impact of livestock.
- UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE VALENCIA (UPV)
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