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Photo: Tonje Lindrup Robertsen

Secure and sustainable production of enough protein-rich food is essential for all human societies. In this project called MetaFeed the possibility of using microorganisms as food and feed is explored.  In particular, it is investigated if protein can be produced efficiently from methanol using novel bacteria. This would decouple protein production from agriculture since methanol is an industrial chemical that may be produced from CO2 and renewable electricity.

01 Jan 2026 - 31 Dec 2029

The Research Council of Norway (NFR 358345)

About the project

  • Background

    In our growing global population, making sure everyone has access to enough protein-rich food is a massive challenge. Traditional farming relies on land, water, and weather—resources that are under pressure from climate change and overpopulation. But what if we could sidestep all that? Enter MetaFeed, a research project at NMBU that will investigate this idea: turning the simple industrial chemical methanol into high-quality protein using special bacteria.

  • Objectives

    The primary objective of the project is to develop efficient processes for producing protein-rich microbial biomass from methanol for feed applications. To achieve this, the following secondary objectives need to be met:

    1. Identify novel bacteria that can grow on methanol

    2. Develop bioprocesses in bioreactors with high productivities and high cell densities

    3. Optimize microbial biomass composition for specific feed applications by tuning process conditions

    4. Obtain detailed characterization of produced microbial biomass and evaluate feed applications

    5. Develop downstream processes to prepare the biomass for specific feed applications

    6. TEA of selected value chains for methanol-based feed production in Norway.

  • Publications

Participants

  • NMBU team

  • Outside collaborators