A report by GFI Europe has found that European alternative protein research received more public and philanthropic funding than ever before in 2023, increasing from €63 million in 2020 to €290 million in 2023. This figure is likely to be matched or surpassed by the end of 2024.
Since 2020, the European Commission has granted €252 million to alt protein research, mainly through the Horizon Europe program. Of this, half was invested in 2023 and early 2024.
By country, Denmark has funded the most research at €96 million since 2020. The UK is close behind at €90 million, partly due to the establishment of a network of research hubs by the funding body UK Research and Innovation.
Previously, most funding has gone to plant-based foods, but public investments in fermentation are set to exceed €100 million for the first time this year. Investments in cultivated meat are also on the rise. To date, the Netherlands has funded the most cultivated meat research at €67 million, with this sum mostly originating from the country’s National Growth Fund.
Inconsistent funding approach
Meanwhile, a separate GFI analysis has found that 26% of all European academic research papers examining alternative proteins were published last year — 472 compared to just 19 in 2010. In the period from 2010-2023, UK researchers published the most alt protein studies at 255, followed by Germany at 243 and the Netherlands at 199.
Despite government opposition to alternative proteins, Italy has the most alternative protein researchers at 504. Small countries such as Ireland, Finland, and Denmark perform better than expected regarding the number of studies per capita.
Plant-based protein research accounts for 64% of alt protein publications and has the fastest year-on-year growth rate; the number of studies into fermentation and cultivated meat is much smaller and fluctuates from year to year. GFI notes that the overall funding picture across Europe is inconsistent, with countries adopting different approaches and specialisms.
“For the first time ever, this report puts Europe’s alternative protein research under the microscope, finding a rapidly growing field offering exciting opportunities – but also an inconsistent approach to funding and an urgent need to build a more coherent network,” said Dr Stella Child, Research and Grants Manager at GFI Europe. “To capitalise on this growing expertise and make sure innovations developed by European scientists can be commercialised here, governments and funding bodies must create more opportunities for alternative protein scientists to collaborate and provide dedicated funding to boost research in overlooked areas.”
