Plenitude Final Conference
Circular Bio-economy for Sustainable Protein Production
Fokker Terminal, The Hague, NL
June 3rd, 2025
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Co-located with Bridge2Food Europe and FREE to attend for relevant stakeholders, professionals and academics who want to learn more and make an impact.

Why Attend:
* 200 delegates
* 14 dedicated sessions
* Networking opportunities
* Cooking demos with mycoprotein products
* Evening Welcome Reception
Our Story
Since 2019, PLENITUDE has brought together 10 European partners from agri-food, biotechnology, academia, and beyond, powered by €16.9 million in funding from the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking. This consortium has pioneered cutting-edge solutions to advance a sustainable future through a unique circular, minimal-waste process for mycoprotein production and its applications in food and beyond.
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Join the Plenitude Final Conference and discover groundbreaking innovations shaping new bio-based value chains and discuss how these can be actualized in the European landscape! Here, you will learn how these solutions provide environmental, economic, and public health benefits while addressing the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges.
Meet our Speakers
Event Programme
Tuesday June 3rd, 2025.
All times in CEST.
Opening Remarks & Project Overview
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

Craig Johnston
Co-founder & Technology Director at ENOUGH

Luisa Mascia
Project Officer at Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking
Coffee Break
10:50 AM - 11:15 AM
Biorefinery Landscape in Europe
11:15 AM - 11:40 AM

Dirk Carrez
Executive Director at BIC
Panel: Mycoprotein for Meat and Dairy Analogs: Navigating Functional and Formulation Hurdles
11:45 AM - 12:30 PM

Sonia Huppert
Global Innovation Marketing Leader RE-IMAGINE WELLNESS™ Protein & Modulation at IFF

Katarzyna Polanowska
R&D Manager at ENOUGH

Jan Buher
Research Manager at Vivera
Assessing the Environmental Impact of Meat Analogs - LCA work in Plenitude
After a brief overview of the Plenitude CBE JU project in which LCE takes part, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, focusing on mycoprotein and its environmental impacts, is presented. It aimed to identify key environmental hotspots within the production phase while also assessing the combined impacts of production, storage, and distribution. The study emphasized food-grade mycoprotein as an important protein source, enabling innovative recipes. Results showed that mycoprotein products performed comparably to plant-based proteins and better than animal-based proteins. Future assessments will further explore mycoprotein's environmental impact, emphasizing the role of LCA as an independent and “flexitarian” tool for all food alternatives.
12:35 PM - 12:55 PM

Sonia Pignatelli
Senior LCA Analyst at Life Cycle Engineering SPA
Networking Lunch featuring a cooking demo with ABUNDA Mycoprotein
Over lunch, Chef Michael will be demonstrating the culinary versatility of ABUNDA by cooking a delicious dish, and discussing how consumers can benefit from cooking with, and eating our delicious, nutritious mycoprotein in application
12:55 PM - 1:50 PM

Michael Kilkie
Head of Culinary at ENOUGH
Diverse Mycoprotein Applications: Meat Hybrids, Cultivated Meat & Bioplastics
Mosa Meat's will provide an overview of its technology and product development, followed by the preparation of blended systems with cultivated meat and mycoprotein. The data presented will be on the textural properties of these products, through rheological analysis of temperature ramps and prototype preparations in a shear cell. Blending these two components yields promising results, paving the way for innovative product development.
1:50 PM - 2:20 PM

Vincent Brain
General Manager at Bridge2Food

Francesco Zaccarian
Product Development Scientist at Mosa Meat
GIANT LEAPS: An integrated perspective on the future of alternative proteins and the dietary shift towards healthy and sustainable diets
Accelerating the protein transition is key to making our food system sustainable and healthier. This transition is complex: domains of availability, sustainability, safety, health, technical feasibility and consumer acceptance should all be addressed to understand the role of alternative proteins in future diets across Europe. GIANT LEAPS addresses these domains for alternative proteins including plant, single cell, insect and cultured meat protein sources. This presentation will provide an update on project progress, including defining scenarios for future European diets, and explore opportunities to leverage results and innovations from other projects, such as Plenitude, for maximal joint impact.
2:25 PM - 2:50 PM

Paul Vos
Senior Researcher and Expertise Leader Nutrition Quality & Health at Wageningen University & Research
Looking Forward: Cutting Edge Research in Biomass & Precision Fermentation
2:55 PM - 3:20 PM

Karen Polizzi
Karen Polizzi Professor of Biotechnology at Imperial College / Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein
Overview on Single-Cell Proteins
3:25 PM - 3:50 PM
Coffee Break
3:50 PM - 4:20 PM
Characterisation and Nutritional Quality Assessment of Mycoprotein Ingredients
4:20 PM - 4:45 PM

Laurice Pouvreau
Expertise Leader Protein Technology at Wageningen University & Research
Panel: How EU Institutions Foster Entrepreneurship in the Bio-based Sector
4:50 PM - 5:35 PM

Giulia Del Brenna
Head of Unit at DG GROW

Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore
Executive Director at Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking

Mariana Fazenda
Senior Programme manager at EIT Food Education

Katrijn Otten
Senior Director of Government Relations at Cargill
Closing Remarks
Protein transition remains a social, nutritional, and environmental priority; and as one of 16 Flagship projects under the CBE-JU, Plenitude demonstrates how increasing the circularity and sustainability of production systems meets the objectives of sustainability and the needs of consumers. Large scale first-of-a-kind projects are both challenging and rewarding, and are enabled by politicians, grants, money, and companies but most fundamentally and essentially by people, with passion, tenacity and patience. Plenitude’s path has never been linear. It’s journey is only partially complete and its impact and legacy will build on a multitude of connections, learnings and collaborations.
5:40 PM - 5:50 PM

Jim Laird
CEO - ENOUGH

Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore
Executive Director at Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking
Presentation & Tasting: Low Food Lab: Researching Mycoprotein Beyond the Meat Analogue
In the Low Food Labs, we explore the potential of underutilized and undervalued ingredients through culinary experimentation and innovation. Collaborating with a select group of experts — including chefs, product developers, designers, and fermentation specialists — we conduct a wide range of experiments to unlock new possibilities in food. Our most recent lab, in partnership with ENOUGH and Cargill, focused on mycelium — specifically ABUNDA. We challenged our team to move beyond the meat analogue and explore a broader spectrum of applications. The result is a rich portfolio of concepts and recipes, now published and ready to inspire. In this session, we’ll share our lab philosophy and invite you to taste one of our creations
6:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Tessa van der Geer
Head of Labs - Low Food