Successfully produced protein from electricity and CO2

In the future, human food can be produced without the need of agricultural conditions such as soil, moisture.

Researchers from the Finnish Engineering Research Center (VTT) and Lappeenranta University of Technology have found a way to produce unicellular proteins by electricity and carbon dioxide.

In a recent statement, VTT did not elaborate on the production process but only revealed that the protein could be produced 'from anywhere where there is renewable energy'.

These proteins can be further developed to become food for humans and animal feed.

Jero Ahola, a professor at Lappeenranta University of Technology, said: "Compared with traditional agriculture, production methods are being developed that do not require locations with agricultural conditions such as temperature, humidity or a certain soil type '.

Juha-Pekka Pitkanen, chief scientist at VTT, said that the proteins produced in this way could be further developed to become human and animal feeds.

Researchers estimate that the new way to generate food from this energy is to use energy that is 10 times more efficient than photosynthesis without polluting the environment.

However, it takes about two weeks to produce a gram of protein in the laboratory, so researchers think they have to improve the production process.

"We want to turn this idea into a mass-produced, low-cost product as technology improves," said Ahola .

VTT says the study is part of a Neo-Carbon Energy research project aimed at developing a completely renewable energy system that does not emit environmental pollutants.