Dining on Carbon: The Consortium Reimagining Food From Emissions

Courtesy: Novo Nordisk Foundation

What if carbon dioxide, the gas most responsible for fueling climate change, could be transformed into nutritious food? That question has been driving an ambitious partnership between the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Topsoe, Novonesis, and a network of leading universities. Now, after two years of groundwork, the initiative, known as the Acetate Consortium, is entering its second phase, with renewed funding of up to DKK 162.2 million (€21.7 million / $25.6 million) through 2027.

The project, launched in 2023, aims to pioneer food production methods that bypass agriculture’s most resource-heavy inputs. By feeding acetate derived from captured CO₂ to microbial strains, researchers have begun to develop proteins that don’t rely on sugar, land, or livestock. In early experiments, the microbes thrived, producing biomass with over 40% protein content. With pilot plants already operating at Aarhus University in Denmark, the next step will be scaling the technology and developing prototypes that can be tasted, tested, and eventually commercialized.

From Fiction to Food Prototypes

“When the consortium began its work two years ago, making food derived from CO₂ seemed like something taken from a science fiction movie. Within the next two years, we can expect to see actual prototypes of food products that will be tested by consumers,” said Claus Felby, Vice President for Agri-Food at the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

The vision goes far beyond novelty. According to the UN World Food Programme, 295 million people faced acute hunger in 2024, an increase of nearly 14 million from the previous year. If successful, the technology being advanced by the Acetate Consortium could generate enough protein to feed over one billion people annually, using carbon emissions as a resource rather than a pollutant.

For Poul Georg Moses, Chief Technology Officer for Power-to-X at Topsoe, the urgency is clear: “This is a dire real-world problem we are attempting to solve for. That’s why we’re proud to be an active partner and help move forward in this promising project, where science-based solutions can ultimately mean food for more people.”

How It Works: From Emissions to Edibles

Traditional fermentation processes rely on sugar as a feedstock to grow microbes that produce proteins or other functional compounds. But sugar itself comes with a steep environmental price tag: it requires large areas of arable land, irrigation, and agricultural inputs. By swapping sugar for acetate—produced directly from CO₂ through electrochemical processes, the consortium has found a way to potentially eliminate that dependency.

Topsoe is contributing its cutting-edge electrolysis technologies, including its Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cells (SOEC), which generate hydrogen with exceptionally high efficiency, and its eMethanol loop technology, which adapts flexibly to fluctuations in renewable energy inputs. Together, these processes can transform captured CO₂ into acetate, which then becomes food for microbes that in turn become protein-rich food ingredients.

Phase one of the project revealed both promise and hurdles. While microbial strains successfully grew on 100% acetate with high protein yields, the team also identified major cost drivers: electricity and infrastructure. The second phase will focus not only on scaling the science but also on modeling its technical, economic, and environmental viability through rigorous life cycle assessments.

Beyond Science: Making Food Taste Like Dinner

If the first stage was about proving feasibility, the next will be about making it real and palatable. To this end, the consortium has welcomed Spora, a Copenhagen-based food innovation hub co-founded by chef Rasmus Munk of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Alchemist. Munk, named the world’s best chef in 2024, has long pushed the boundaries of gastronomy and is now turning his attention to ensuring that CO₂-derived foods “taste more like dinner than science.”

“The technology developed in phase one can reshape how we produce food, and I look forward to turning it into nutritious and above all delicious ingredients for the future,” said Munk.

Spora’s role underscores a crucial point: solving hunger and climate change will require not just calories, but culturally resonant, desirable foods that people want to eat. As Mette Johnsen, CEO of Spora, put it, “The goal is to develop delicious, protein-rich everyday foods with a low impact on the planet, and broad appeal, especially for families in the communities that need it the most.”

A Danish Test Bed for Global Impact

Denmark’s unique ecosystem of research, industry, and gastronomy is playing an outsized role in shaping this vision. From its pioneering carbon tax on meat and dairy to its national action plan for plant-based food, the country has positioned itself as a leader in the protein transition. “One of Denmark’s strengths is the ability to bridge research, industry, and gastronomy,” Felby noted. “This makes us an ideal test country for new technologies such as this, where CO₂ can be used as a raw material for future food.”

The Acetate Consortium includes partners from both Denmark and abroad: Aarhus University, University of Copenhagen, Northwestern University in the U.S., Copenhagen Process ApS, Novonesis, Orkla, Topsoe, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s CO₂ Research Center. Together, they form a cross-sector coalition that mirrors the systemic complexity of the food challenges they are trying to address.

CO₂-to-Food in a Global Context

The Acetate Consortium is not alone in exploring CO₂-based food systems. Companies like Solar Foods (Finland), Air Protein (U.S.), LanzaTech and Savor (U.S.) are already developing proteins and other ingredients from carbon using gas fermentation. But the scale and credibility of the Gates, Novo Nordisk partnership, combined with Denmark’s innovation ecosystem, make this initiative stand out as one to watch.

In the words of Topsoe’s Moses, the work is not about futuristic speculation but about tackling today’s urgent crises: climate change, hunger, and resource scarcity. Whether CO₂-derived acetate becomes a mainstream feedstock for proteins will depend on the next two years of technological refinement, consumer testing, and economic modeling.

If it succeeds, the Acetate Consortium could flip the narrative of climate change: transforming CO₂ emissions from a planetary threat into a global food resource, and proving that the gas fueling hunger and instability today could one day help feed billions without exhausting the Earth.