ABOUT PLENITUDE

PLENITUDE is the CBE JU-funded project building new value chains for bio-based products that can provide a range of environmental, economic, and public health benefits

THE PROJECT

PLENITUDE is a consortium of 10 partners from across Europe joined by a common goal: to build new bio-based value chains that address some of the world’s most urgent sustainability challenges. The key is ABUNDA mycoprotein—a protein-rich ingredient from the Kingdom of Fungi with impressive nutritional and functional properties.

Together, PLENITUDE partners are creating new ABUNDA-based products and researching their applications as sustainable and scalable alternatives to more resource-intensive livestock products.

Launched in 2019, PLENITUDE has received €16.9 million in funding from the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU). Consortium partners include leaders in agri-food production and processing, biotechnology, product development, academia, life cycle assessment, and strategic communications.

OUR CHALLENGE

The production of livestock and animal feed is a leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and biodiversity loss, occupying nearly 80% of the world’s agricultural land🔗. Current levels of production and consumption cannot be sustained without severe consequences for the planet and future generations🔗. However, demand for animal protein is still projected to increase significantly as the global population grows.

Policy interventions and behavioral change are necessary, but they can be slow and are often constrained by political and cultural barriers. A new approach is needed to support evidence-based policies and healthier dietary patterns.

Target Impact

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Novel Technology

At the core of PLENITUDE is a novel way of producing protein. By integrating an aerobic fermentation plant with a conventional first-generation biorefinery, ABUNDA improves the sustainability of mycoprotein production through a circular, minimal-waste model where the main effluent stream undergoes a second fermentation to produce ethanol. ABUNDA technology can be implemented anywhere in the world where there is demand for more sustainable protein and bio-based products.

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Protein Supply

PLENITUDE partners are creating new applications for mycoprotein. By serving as appealing substitutes for animal-based products, these will increase the availability of sustainable and nutritious protein-rich foods and ingredients to meet rising consumer demands. In doing so, PLENITUDE helps future-proof food security, while addressing sustainability and public health dilemmas associated with animal protein production.

Value Chains

The multisectoral nature of the PLENITUDE consortium enables development of full value chains for ABUNDA mycoprotein products. From raw agricultural inputs to processing, production, and packaging, PLENITUDE aims to build supply chains for at least two new consumer products.

Once established, these can grow independently, generating a wide range of economic benefits, including safeguarding and creating employment opportunities in both urban and rural areas.

Public Health

PLENITUDE will increase access to food sources that are protein-rich, high in fibre, cholesterol-free, and which can easily serve as substitutes for animal-based products. By making such foods more available and affordable, PLENITUDE can help address the prevalence of common lifestyle diseases.

Cleaner, more efficient protein production will also help reduce pandemic risk🔗🔗 and antimicrobial resistance threats🔗 coming from the production of livestock and animal products.

Sustainability

PLENITUDE will demonstrate a mycoprotein-biorefinery process capable of offsetting more than 11 million tonnes of CO2 and reducing water consumption by 13.8 billion cubic metres per year compared to beef farming. This will also reduce pressure on land, water resources, and biodiversity.

Preliminary research shows consumption of ABUNDA mycoprotein as a kg-per-kg replacement for meat (average consumption levels) equates to a reduction of more than 90% in both carbon emissions and land use.

Evidence-Based Policy

PLENITUDE results will be quantified by completing a full assessment of the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the project’s value chains. These findings will be used to improve project processes and outcomes, while supporting evidence-based policies and investments.

Evaluations will be made using life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), and social LCA (SLCA) methodologies based on the latest available standards.

Project Partners

PLENITUDE project coordinator, 3F BIO (with trade name ENOUGH), has developed a patented minimal-waste fermentation technology to meet the protein demand for a growing world population. ENOUGH has built the first-of-its-kind facility in Sas van Gent, the Netherlands, co-located with Cargill’s biorefinery.

Cargill is one of the world’s largest agri-food producers and traders. Cargill operates the biorefinery with which ENOUGH’s mycoprotein production facility is co-located and integrated, providing feedstock for the mycoprotein production and utilizing waste streams to produce biofuel.

Vivera is a leading brand, product developer, and producer in the plant-based meat industry. With products sold in over 25k supermarkets in 25 European countries, Vivera ranks among the top three meat alternative producers in Europe. Vivera is developing prototypes using ABUNDA mycoprotein produced by ENOUGH.

ABP Food Group is one of Europe’s largest agri-food processors spanning over 50 sites in eight countries, providing meat products to customers around the world. Subsidiaries ABP UK and C&D Foods are developing meat-mycoprotein hybrid and meat-free products, respectively, using ABUNDA mycoprotein.

International Flavors & Fragrances is a leading innovator in scent, taste, and nutrition, with 97 manufacturing facilities, 105 R&D centres, and 39,000 customers globally. IFF creates and sells more than 90,000 unique products annually, with new ABUNDA mycoprotein-based products being developed.

Lactips is a developer and producer of water soluble and biodegradable thermoplastic pellets using milk protein. As a PLENITUDE partner, Lactips will leverage their resources and expertise to help characterise ABUNDA mycoprotein and use it to produce sustainable bioplastic materials.

MosaMeat is a Dutch food technology company developing production methods for cell-cultured meat. Founded in 2015, Mosa Meat is a leading pioneer in cutting-edge protein technology. Mosa Meat is developing hybrid products combining cultured meat and ABUNDA mycoprotein.

Wageningen Food & Biobased Research develops technologies and provides insights that support companies, governments, and other research institutes in creating healthy & delicious foods and sustainable food chains. WUR researchers are characterising and evaluating the nutritional profile of ABUNDA mycoprotein.

Bridge2Food is a network and platform company that brings together global leaders and innovators in plant-based foods and emerging protein technologies through summits, courses, and ecosystem meetings. Bridge2Food is responsible for communication and dissemination of PLENITUDE activities and results.

Project Timeline

October 2019

Project Launch

September 2021

Sas van Gent, NL

Groundbreaking of flagship plant

September 2022

Sas van Gent, NL

Ribbon-cutting celebration

April 2023

Turin, IT

Food truck showcase

European Union Funded

PLENITUDE has received funding from the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (JU) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 838104. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the Bio-based Industries Consortium.

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