HYDROCOW and Solar Foods: rethinking dairy proteins with gas-fed microbes

The HYDROCOW project, funded by the European Innovation Council through its Pathfinder Challenges, is developing a platform to produce dairy proteins without traditional agriculture. Coordinated by Solar Foods, the initiative uses an engineered hydrogen-oxidising bacterium to convert carbon dioxide and in future nitrogen into food-grade protein. The project aims for a net-zero carbon protein production route that could reduce land and water footprints typically associated with milk production.

What HYDROCOW has achieved so far

HYDROCOW reports several technical milestones. The team engineered Xanthobacter sp. SoF1 to secrete a major milk protein, beta-lactoglobulin. They then iterated the production process through a formal design-build-test-learn cycle to improve yields and process stability. Solar Foods positions the platform as a way to broaden its hydrogen fermentation capabilities beyond bulk protein powders to more specialised products, while retaining a lower environmental footprint relative to agriculture.

Core technology explained

Solar Foods, Solein and manufacturing scale-up

Solar Foods is best known for Solein, a powder protein ingredient grown by feeding microbes with gases, including CO2, hydrogen and oxygen plus minor nutrients. Factory 01 in Vantaa, Finland began operations in early 2024 and has a target capacity of up to 160 tonnes of Solein per year. The company has publicly discussed plans for a second facility, Factory 02, that would be 50 to 100 times larger and reach commercially profitable scale. Solar Foods has also listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland under the ticker SFOODS to support global scaling.

Regulatory progress and market entry

Solein has secured regulatory headway in certain jurisdictions. Singapore granted novel food approval in 2022. In early September 2024 the company announced a self-affirmed GRAS conclusion in the United States, which it says could allow sales in that market by the end of the year. Solar Foods has ongoing novel food filings in the European Union and the United Kingdom. Alongside regulatory submission efforts the company is negotiating strategic launch and partnership agreements with food and biotech firms to co-develop products for different markets.

Why HYDROCOW matters and where claims need scrutiny

HYDROCOW and Solar Foods represent a growing European bet on gas-fed, autotrophic microbial production of proteins. This approach could reduce land and water use and avoid competition with food-grade glucose as a feedstock. The technology also opens possibilities beyond food, including materials and therapeutic proteins. Yet several technical and commercial caveats remain.

Funding, IP and the role of EIC Pathfinder

HYDROCOW is funded by the EIC Pathfinder Challenges programme. Pathfinder supports early-stage, high-risk research that could create new technological trajectories. The EIC backing is an important validation for foundational research. Translating an academic or early commercial demonstration into a regulated, mass-market ingredient requires follow-on capital and clear intellectual property and licensing strategies. Solar Foods has indicated the potential to license hydrogen fermentation technology and engineered organisms to other players in the food industry.

Implications for the EU innovation ecosystem

HYDROCOW sits at the intersection of EU ambitions on green tech, circularity and industrial biotechnology. The EIC Pathfinder model is designed to de-risk novel concepts that can be taken up by industry or spun out into startups. If HYDROCOW and Solar Foods achieve scalable, low-carbon protein manufacturing, it could reinforce European leadership in alternative proteins and green biomanufacturing. However, wider policy alignment is important. Support for renewable electricity, electrolytic hydrogen roll-out, and clear novel food regulatory pathways in the EU will influence whether projects like HYDROCOW can move from promising research to commercially viable operations.

Where to watch next

Key indicators to monitor include independent lifecycle assessments of HYDROCOW and Solein production, outcomes of EU and UK novel food filings, the commercial terms and counterparty partners for product launches, and any investment decisions for Factory 02. Technical publications detailing yields, energy consumption per kilogram of protein, and downstream processing costs would also provide stronger evidence for environmental and economic claims.

Conclusion

HYDROCOW advances a technically interesting approach to producing dairy proteins from CO2 via engineered, hydrogen-oxidising microbes. The combination of EIC Pathfinder support and Solar Foods infrastructure including Factory 01 gives the project real momentum. That momentum must still clear typical hurdles for deeptech food ventures. Verifiable lifecycle emissions data, reliable access to low-cost renewable hydrogen, regulatory clearances across jurisdictions, and convincing unit economics are necessary before the project can deliver on wider claims about net-zero dairy protein production at scale.

For more details see Solar Foods and the HYDROCOW project page on CORDIS. The EIC Pathfinder Challenges programme provides funding for high-risk, potentially transformative research in the European innovation landscape.