A Finnish startup called Solar Foods has invented something amazing. A completely new form of protein derived only from air, water and renewable energy, and needs absolutely no plant or animal source of any kind.
This wonder food protein called Solein can be a potential energy source for all human beings in the future, if Solar Foods can find a way to scale its production to a massive scale.
Developed in their lab just outside Helsinki, Solar Foods is calling the revolutionary new protein as 'Solein', which is made very similar to how beer is brewed. It involves feeding tiny microbes air and water, with continuous electricity passed through, and that's pretty much all it takes to extract protein out of thin air.
This is no sorcerer's trick but pure science, as Solein is formed after microbes suck mainly hydrogen (from air and water), leaving behind a post-fermentation liquid in huge vats. After drying the liquid, a yellow, turmeric-like power remains which is nothing but Solein, according to Solar Foods.
What's even more impressive is that the researchers say if the electricity needed to allow the microbes to convert air and water into Solein is solar or wind power, then the food generation cycle is completely greenhouse gas emissions free.
Imagine a food source that's not plant or animal based and completely dependant on renewable energy? That's the promise of Solein protein from Solar Foods.
Ħ°We bring to the market an entirely new kind of food that is both natural, and free from the burdens of agriculture and aquaculture,Ħħ says Solar Foods.
Compared to traditional agriculture or animal husbandry, Solar Foods says their method of food production requires much less water -- which is more great news. Just 10 litres of water is enough to make 1 kilogram of Solein. This is astonishingly low compared to any agricultural crop currently produced in the world.
So yes, Solar Foods has created something out of nothing -- a potentially limitless food source of the future. What needs to be seen is if they can find a way to scale their dream to a truly global level.