Sustainable food solutions

Sustainable food solutions

Transforming sustainable plant proteins into food products with desirable texture and taste profiles.

The increasing demand for animal-based protein has led to greenhouse gas emissions and excessive water and land usage. As the world’s population grows to 10 billion by 2050, alternative sources of protein will play a crucial role in providing sustainability.

Attractive alternatives

By combining 3D printing for texture creation and shear cell technology, DFPI is developing new strategies and technologies for the creation of structured proteins. This presents attractive opportunities for companies in many different markets: ingredients, alternative proteins, food products and equipment manufacturers. For consumers, these foods will also be healthier than the animal-based alternatives, especially when based on personalized input.

A world-leading ecosystem

3D printing can build up plant proteins more effectively than before, but challenges remain in the replacement of meat. This requires controlling differences in materials at a millimeter scale, such as the intersection of muscle tissue and fat. To solve this problem, partners can combine their knowledge and expertise in DFPI’s ecosystem of world-leading organizations and ‘living labs’ throughout the Brainport and Wageningen regions. By hosting multinational food producers, the WUR campus also allows them to easily collaborate on extrusion technologies to recreate the structure of meat from plants.

DFPI is always looking for new partners in sustainable food structures – contact us to see how this can benefit your organization.


DFPI is a collaboration of: