This Wednesday, our co-founder and CSO Per Falholt and our colleague Barbara Taudorf Andersen joined key players of the Danish and European biosolutions scene for the second Biosolutions summit.
This event was a manifestation of the potential of biosolutions, and of the companies redefining the biotech industry in Denmark.
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO at the Novo Nordisk Foundation, and Ester Baiget, CEO at Novonesis, lead the way stating that:
- It is time to subsidize the future – instead of subsidizing the past. We have the experience: to get new solutions to market, they need support. Especially when the competing solutions are subsidized.
- Sustainable solutions (i.e products produced with biology) are competitive – when the hidden cost of traditional animal-based products is taken into account.
It was great to hear Arla Foods state that the future can’t be animal production vs. alternative sources. To feed the growing population, we need both.
Danish Minister for Industry, Business, and Financial Affairs, Morten Bødskov, clearly stated that structural changes are needed to create a European home market.
Our co-founder and CSO Per Falholt presented 21st.BIO’s work and shared important takeaways:
- There is a black swan coming towards our global food systems. The growing and ageing population needs more nutritious food, and current production is capped.
- Biosolutions are being scaled already and can redefine the capabilities of all regions to reach self-sufficiency.
- Europe owns the leading technology – but we will fall behind if we do not establish large scale manufacturing of protein in Denmark and other EU countries, as well as fast-track 3-5 proteins to get these products to market in Europe.
Many thanks to the European Biosolutions Coalition, DI Bio, the Alliance for Biosolutions, and Sofie Carsten Nielsen for the organization and support. Thank you all for the inspiring discussions and presentations.
