{"id":457,"date":"2022-11-18T11:40:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T11:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationquarter.nl\/en\/?p=457"},"modified":"2026-07-07T16:12:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:12:46","slug":"insect-proteins-as-a-tool-for-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationquarter.nl\/en\/updates\/insect-proteins-as-a-tool-for-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions\/","title":{"rendered":"Sib\u00f6: Insect proteins as a tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Climate change, protein transition, and the greater Rotterdam-The Hague area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change is our societal challenge of the century. The use of fossil fuels, mass deforestation, and livestock farming has led to a drastic increase in global temperatures, causing unstable weather conditions, less biodiversity, higher risks of drought, heating of the ocean, and the mass displacement of people. As we rapidly approach climate goal dates in 2030 and 2050, the world is in dire need of new solutions. Luckily, there is hope. In areas such as protein transition, companies are making leaps and bounds, creating a revolution from their home in the greater Rotterdam-The Hague area. International companies working in meat replacements, alternative dairy, insect protein, cellular agriculture, and more are relocating to the region in order to scale up their impact. One such company, Sib\u00f6<\/a>, is staking their claim and leading innovation towards a brighter future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 2021 by Alejandro Ortega<\/a> and Daniela Arias<\/a>, Sib\u00f6 has dedicated itself to reducing the impacts of climate change. For decades, scientists have highlighted the benefits of finding more sustainable food sources, and slowly, societies have shifted towards promoting plant-based alternatives rather than relying on traditional livestock. While this greatly contributes to a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, the shift still contains some notable gaps, many of which could be filled by transitioning to the use of insects as a protein source. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Alejandro, Sib\u00f6\u2019s Chief Vision Officer, explained, \u201cThe insect protein has vitamin B12<\/strong>, all the essential amino acids, iron, zinc, and a lot of other properties that are difficult to find in plant based solutions.\u201d  <\/em>But why are plant-based alternatives not created with these added properties? \u201cWell, because these materials and molecules are actually created from animal sources,\u201d <\/em>he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alejandro,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite the positive benefits associated with the plant-based protein movement, these essential building blocks still need to be developed in a laboratory. \u201cAnd, unfortunately, <\/em>nature is always going to be smarter<\/em> than us. And so we\u2019d rather go for something that is natural over something that can be created from other places, and it will take years and to get it even close to what nature can provide us,\u201d<\/em> Alejandro stated. Despite a societal effort to move towards alternative protein sources, protein consumption from traditional livestock still remains high. Making the switch from traditional livestock to protein derived from insects<\/strong> could lead to 130 times less CO<\/strong>2<\/strong> emissions<\/strong>, 25 times less land use<\/strong>, and 2000 times less water use<\/strong>, all while using next to no electricity<\/strong> in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enabler of local production and consumption powered by data science<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To facilitate the transition, Sib\u00f6 employs a three-step process. As Alejandro elaborated, \u201cwe scout the qualifications of insect manufacturers as suppliers for food companies. The second part is the discovery of new ingredients for food companies. \u2026 We [then] licence our technology to insect companies so they can actually create these materials, these ingredients that we found for [the] food companies. So that\u2019s how we bridge the gap, basically, connecting, finding new applications and making those applications a reality.\u201d Sib\u00f6 collects and analyses the tremendous amount of data involved in the process through its platform, The Entowise Discovery Tool<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Powered by artificial intelligence<\/strong>, The Entowise Discovery Tool is capable of recreating a large number of the food ingredients and biomaterials<\/strong> found in the insects, allowing the company to develop tailor-made products for its users. In doing so, Sib\u00f6 creates a distinction between the insect and its properties. Isolating the key ingredients<\/strong> needed for a healthy and sustainably sourced diet<\/strong> and transferring them to new products removes the negative association of insects as a food source held by consumers and food companies alike. As Alejandro highlighted, the key to the company\u2019s approach is to distinguish the two. \u201cSo, instead of thinking about insects, which is the most difficult thing, not only for end consumers, but also for food companies. Think about this, if you have a phone but you only need a camera, then you have to separate them. And that\u2019s something that we really understood.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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