Finnish researchers at the Lappeenranta University of Technology and the VTT Technical Research Centre have conducted a remarkable process using electricity and carbon dioxide to create single-cell protein.

This is hailed as a revolutionary procedure as it creates food out of thin air.The artificially created protein can be used to feed animals and humans alike. The best part is that the process has zero environmental impacts.The nutrient can be grown without fertilizers, pesticides, or the creation of dangerous greenhouse gases.

Some organisms have the ability to utilize hydrogen as a source of energy. VTT’s principal researcher Juha-Pekka Pitkänen said that electricity from solar power can be used.

Pitkänen says that all raw materials required to make the protein are available from the air. Thus, in future, this technology can be transported and used in deserts and other areas where there is a scarcity of food.

One option is to make a home reactor, a type of domestic appliance that the consumer can use to produce the required protein. Currently, the process of creating protein takes two weeks. The researchers plan to speed up this growing process to a single day, but it will take a few years.

The team is also trying to find out ways to incorporate all the facilities needed to grow 11 pounds (5 Kilos) of nutrient into a small, portable container that is more easily transportable.