An innovative carbon recycling project which turns industrial emissions into animal feed has secured £3 million of funding from Innovate UK.

Led by the biotechnology company Deep Branch, the REACT-FIRST project will use carbon dioxide from Drax Power’s Selby power station and apply its carbon-to-protein technology to generate food for fish and poultry.

The process uses microbes to convert carbon dioxide emissions and turn them into high-value proteins – this is expected to shrink carbon impacts by up to 75%, use minimal water and will not require arable land.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: “To protect our environment and meet our world-leading target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, we must harness the very best of UK innovation across all sectors, supporting the most creative and pioneering ideas.”

Peter Rowe, CEO of Deep Branch, said: “Projects like REACT-FIRST are key to help the industry move towards achieving net-zero emissions. Currently, most animal feed protein sources are imported from overseas, making the UK dependent on complicated and fragile supply chains.” 

The project is supported by a consortium of ten industry and academic partners including the University of Edinburgh, the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre, the University of Stirling and Sainsbury’s.

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