Strathclyde’s intellectual property behind biotech breakthrough

Universities have a strong culture of delivery which aligns closely with the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation. We’ve curated a set of 19 stories to show how universities support people, businesses, industries and Scotland’s regions towards economic transformation.

ENOUGH is a Glasgow-based spin-out industrial biotechnology company, producing a sustainable, edible protein that will help feed a growing global population and address the unsustainable impact of traditional livestock farming. It addresses a new market opportunity and offers transformative potential for the food industry and the environment.

Co-founded by Jim Laird, University of Strathclyde alumnus and Craig Johnston, former industry director of the CMAC Future Manufacturing Research Hub the company cites the support it has received from the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Enterprise, from Zero-Waste Scotland, Innovate UK and investors, describing the whole journey as benefitting greatly from the breadth of the “Strathclyde Entrepreneurship ecosystem”.

The innovation is a novel fermentation process to transform mouldy wheat into a protein substance fit for human consumption. Mycoprotein is a healthy, meat-free form of high-quality protein and an excellent source of dietary fibre. ENOUGH uses large scale fermentation to grow mycoprotein from the sugars found in grains such as wheat and maize and recycles all the effluent produced back to a biorefinery. This innovative process produces the meat alternative at a highly competitive cost, creates zero waste, and enables the production of food, feed, and fuel in the most efficient manner.

ENOUGH is now at the stage where is ready to mass-produce the protein – named Abunda – envisaging one million tonnes of sustainable ‘mycoprotein’ by 2032. The production of one ton of Abunda protein uses 93% less water, 97% less feed and produces 97% less CO2 than an equivalent ton of animal protein. One million tonnes of Abunda would provide the equivalent food source for people, but through sustainable means, as one million cows or 150 million chickens, whilst generating five million tonnes less in CO2 emissions through the process.

ENOUGH has strong links to the University of Strathclyde and its commercialisation team who worked with the founders to secure patent protection for the University’s intellectual property, which ENOUGH applies to produce mycoprotein in an integrated process. The company closely aligns its technology and commercial development with the strategy of the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) in the Glasgow City Innovation District (GCID), as a supporter of Scotland’s National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology.

ENOUGH set up its first ‘farm and kitchen’ in Kinning Park, Glasgow to support process development, new product demonstration and initial supply.