Research project
NAPIC: National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre
- Start date: 12 August 2024
- End date: 11 September 2029
- Value: £15 million
- Partners and collaborators: https://napic.ac.uk/partners/
- Primary investigator: Professor Anwesha Sarkar
- External primary investigator: Cross Faculty Co Investigators - Dr Sepideh Khodaparast | School of Mechanical Engineering and Dr Gesa Reiss | Faculty of Biological Sciences
- Co-investigators: Dr. Alan Javier Hernandez Alvarez, Professor Brent S. Murray, Dr Christine Bosch, Professor Kieran Tuohy, Professor Nicholas Watson, Professor Nik Lomax, Dr Yue Huang
- External co-investigators: Professor Louise Dye, Co-Director of the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food Professor Derek Stewart, Director of the Advanced Plant Growth Centre at The James Hutton Institute. Professor Karen Polizzi, Professor of Biotechnology at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London.
NAPIC’s vision is to make “alternative proteins mainstream for a sustainable planet.” NAPIC aims to establish a world-leading innovation and knowledge centre, positioning the UK at the forefront of addressing global challenges related to population health equity and climate change.
NAPIC’s mission is to ensure a continued supply of safe, tasty, affordable, and functional proteins while supporting Net Zero goals and future-proofing UK food security. Achieving a phased transition towards low-emission alternative proteins, with reduced reliance on animal agriculture, is imperative to meet these objectives.
Grounded in four interdisciplinary knowledge pillars—PRODUCE, PROCESS, PERFORM, and PEOPLE—spanning the entire alternative protein value chain, NAPIC aim to enable the safe and effective adoption of transformative technologies, unlocking the full benefits of alternative proteins.
By collaborating with global industry leaders, regulators, investors, academic partners, and policymakers—and maintaining an open dialogue with UK citizens—NAPIC will pave the way for a National Protein Strategy, setting a clear and actionable roadmap for the UK.
NAPIC will enable us to:
• PRODUCE tasty, nutritious, safe, and affordable alternative protein foods and feedstock’s necessary to safeguard present and future generations, while reducing concerns about ultra-processed foods and assisting a just-transition for producers.
• PROCESS Pillar will catalyse bioprocessing at scale, mainstreaming cultivated meat and precision fermentation, and diversify alternative protein sources across the terrestrial and aquatic kingdoms of life, delivering economies of scale. Delivering a just transition to an alternative protein-rich future, NAPIC will ensure alternative protein
• PERFORM, both pre-consumption, and post-consumption, safeguarding public health.
• PEOPLE, guiding a consumers’ dietary transition, and identifying new business opportunities for food producers, future-proofing the UK’s protein supply against reliance on imports.
Impact
Synergistic bridging of the UK’s trailblazing science and innovation strengths in alternative protein with manufacturing power is key to realising the UK’s ambitious growth potential in alternative protein of £6.8B annually and could create 25,000 jobs across multiple sectors. NAPIC, a cohesive pan-UK centre, will revolutionise the UK’s agri-food sector by harnessing our world-leading science base through a co-created alternative protein strategy across the Discovery→Innovation→Commercialisation framework to realise the ambitious journey to a blended protein economy using a consumer-driven approach, thereby changing the economics for food producers and industries throughout the supply chain.
The centre will build on and develop substantial new intersectoral partnerships to facilitate innovation and technology transfer, designed to outlive the current funding stream.
NAPIC plans to secure a further £30M investment during the initial five-year period, with a long-term view (20 years) for continuity and expansion of its activities until “alternative” proteins are mainstream and are no longer viewed as “alternative”.
Publications and outputs
Manzanilla-Valdez, M.L., Boesch, C., Orfila, C., Montano, S. and Hernandez-Alvarez, A.J., Unveiling the nutritional spectrum: A comprehensive analysis of protein quality and antinutritional factors in three varieties of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild).
Manzanilla-Valdez, M.L., Boesch, C., Martinez-Villaluenga, C., Montano, S. and Hernandez-Alvarez, A.J., Enhancing quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) protein extraction: Alkaline solubilization coupled to isoelectric precipitation effects on structure, digestibility and antinutrients.
Ma, Z., Mondor, M., Dowle, A.A., Goycoolea, F.M. and Hernandez-Alvarez, A.J., Buffalo worm (Alphitobius diaperinus) proteins: Structural properties, proteomics and nutritional benefits.