Completed Food & Agriculture Chemistry

REACT-FIRST: Reduced Emission Aquaculture & Chicken Trial For Integrated, Responsible and Sustainable Transformation of CO2 into animal feed

Funder UKRI
Recipient organisation Deep Branch Biotechnology LTD
Funding £2.2M
Period Sept 2020 — Sept 2024

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

A chicken or salmon raised on gas from a Yorkshire power station could soon end up on dinner plates. Deep Branch Biotechnology has developed a process that captures carbon dioxide from Drax Power’s biomass plant and feeds it to microbes, which produce a protein powder called Proton. The REACT-FIRST consortium—including feed giants BioMar and AB Agri, plus research institutes at the Universities of Stirling and Nottingham Trent—will turn this powder into feed for poultry and farmed fish. This matters because feeding the animals we eat currently requires vast amounts of arable land and water, and generates a large carbon footprint. Proton-based feeds promise a 65–75% smaller carbon footprint, with no need for farmland and minimal water use. If successful, the project could transform two major supply chains—aquaculture and poultry—by decoupling animal feed from agriculture. Consumers would still buy chicken and salmon, but the environmental cost of producing them would drop sharply. The consortium also includes Sainsbury’s and the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre, ensuring the feed meets real industry and retail standards. The University of Edinburgh’s Innogen Institute will assess the full sustainability and ethical implications.

View original technical description
The world's population will reach 10 billion people by 2050\. By this point, the demand for animal-based products will have doubled, yet we currently struggle to feed the animals we eat in a sustainable fashion today. Based on Deep Branch Biotechnology's proprietary CO2-to-protein process, the REACT-FIRST consortium will develop feeds with 65-75% smaller carbon footprints, with no requirements for arable land and minimal water usage. By utilising carbon dioxide from Drax Power's Selby (Yorkshire) biomass power station, Deep Branch generate Proton, a protein powder optimised for aquaculture and poultry diets. By working with BioMar and AB Agri, leading in feed production in these respective markets, the consortium will develop Proton-based feeds that will be validated by world-class research facilities at the University of Sterling's Institute of Aquaculture and Nottingham Trent University's Poultry Research Unit. The project will be guided by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre and Sainsbury's, offering a full value chain network for aquaculture and poultry, ensuring outcomes are aligned with industry needs. The University of Nottingham's Synthetic Biology Research Centre will enable Deep Branch's process to be further optimised in a non-GMO fashion, whilst the University of Edinburgh's Innogen Institute will assess the full sustainability impact of the project and whilst ensuring responsible innovation.

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Original classification

Collaborative R&D

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