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 Analogues: Navigating Functional and Formulation Hurdles

"Mycoprotein has emerged as a promising ingredient for next-generation meat and dairy analogues, but challenges in formulation, processing, and functionality remain. This panel brings together experts from food tech, B2B flavors, and CPG to explore the key product development hurdles and potential solutions when working with mycoproteins. Panelists will examine technical considerations such as taste, texture, scalability, and co-ingredient interactions, alongside insights into consumer acceptance, particularly in comparison to other plant proteins and hybrid products. The discussion will also highlight the value of cross-sector collaboration enabled by publicly funded initiatives like the Plenitude project. Results from Plenitude will be shared, offering new formulation strategies to enhance mycoprotein performance across a range of applications."

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

Luis Fernandez

Vice President Open Innovation at MANE

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 - 1:55 PM

Michael Kilkie

Head of Culinary at ENOUGH

ABUNDA: An Ingenious Ingredient that Inspires Innovation

The collaboration with ENOUGH and other partners in PLENITUDE has inspired the Cargill Meat & Dairy Alternatives R&D team to embark on a journey of discovery into the characteristics of ABUNDA mycoprotein and its application possibilities. ABUNDA is a functional and nutritional ingredient with countless possibilities for combination with other ingredients. This presentation will provide highlights on some of the product concepts that the Cargill R&D team has developed. This development work demonstrates that ABUNDA mycoprotein is not only a good fit for meat & seafood alternatives, but also enables the creation of entirely novel products.

1:55 PM - 2:05 PM

Edwin Berends

Strategic Growth Projects Lead EMEA – Meat & Dairy Alternatives, Cargill Food Solutions

Blending Cultivated Meat and Mycoprotein: Texture, Tech, and Innovation

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.

2:10 PM - 2:20 PM

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

Fermenting the Future: Unlocking the Potential of Microbes for Sustainable Food Production

A deep dive into how fermentation technologies—from precision to biomass—are reshaping the landscape of sustainable food and ingredients and building resilient food systems.

2:55 PM - 3:20 PM

Karen Polizzi

Karen Polizzi Professor of Biotechnology at Imperial College / Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein

Cellular Proteins as a Sustainable Source of Food Proteins

In view of the protein transition, cellular proteins are one of the non-animal protein categories of interest. In the TKI Cellular Proteins project, we investigate factors influencing consumer interest throughout the cellular proteins production chain: from biomass generation on feedstocks, influence of fermentation parameters, processing, to functionality and product application tests. LCA analysis, regulatory status and consumer acceptance overarch the project. The combination of technical developments, consumer research and sustainability analyses deliver knowledge that industrial partners can use to build their strategy with respect to the application of cellular proteins as a tool within the protein transition.

3:25 PM - 3:50 PM

Jolanda Lambert

Team Lead & Senior Project Manager Health & Nutrition at NIZO

Coffee Break

3:50 PM - 4:20 PM

Characterisation and Functionality of Mycoprotein Ingredients

Mycoproteins are a new source of proteins and fibre for human consumption. This presentation will give insights on the mycoprotein functionality itself and in a food matrix, including techno-functionality and digestibility. Mycoproteins are mainly stored frozen until use. Results on the impact of storage conditions on the functionality will be presented.

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

This panel brings together leaders from policy, academia, and industry to explore how EU institutions support innovation and entrepreneurship in the bio-economy. From funding mechanisms to cross-sector collaboration, panelists will share insights into building a competitive and sustainable bio-based economy. Discussions will highlight opportunities for startups, the role of education and talent development, and how upcoming policy shifts—such as the 2025 Danish EU Presidency—could shape future priorities. Join us for a forward-looking conversation on unlocking Europe's bio-innovation potential through strategic regulation, funding programs, and ecosystem-building.

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