Launched in September 2024 for a period of 2.5 years and coordinated by Genopole, the APROVALS project aims to facilitate the deployment and integration of emerging technologies in the field of cellular agriculture by implementing a testing environment that serves innovators throughout the development process of their products
Evry-Courcouronnes, September 25, 2024 – Genopole, France’s leading biocluster dedicated to research in genetics and biotechnology applied to health and the environment, today welcomes the 7 partners of the European APROVALS project (Accelerating PROteins innoVAtors beyond reguLatory Sandboxes) for the official kick-off meeting.
The project is part of an initiative to deploy and integrate emerging technologies in cellular agriculture. The meeting will be an opportunity to establish a solid collaborative foundation between partners, initiate a first collective reflection to define the project’s framework, and establish a concrete roadmap for the first year, outlining the phases for selecting use cases, virtual experimentation, and stakeholder engagement.
Three main activities will be implemented within this project:
- A dedicated testing environment (sandbox) where innovators can refine their solutions, thus fostering their development and accelerating their market launch.
- An expert group to facilitate collaboration between key actors in cellular agriculture, including start-ups, growing SMEs, and innovation support players.
- A transparent dialogue platform with regulators and policymakers to provide recommendations based on results from the testing environment.
In the coming decades, society will face the challenge of feeding a growing global population expected to reach 10 billion people by 2050.
The latest advancements in biotechnology could offer solutions in food production.
Cellular agriculture is a process that gives rise to a new range of foods, which can be derived from whole edible microbial cells (including bacteria, fungi, yeast, and algae), specific functional ingredients produced by precision fermentation, or even animal cells cultivated in the lab.
This cellular agriculture will lead to the introduction of new products, services, and business models, which may have an unpredictable impact on existing markets and supply chains, pushing the boundaries of current regulatory frameworks. As a result, policymakers in the sector need to be open to innovation developments to anticipate their potential impact and adapt existing regulations and policies accordingly.
The APROVALS project is fully aligned with this dynamic, and Genopole is deploying a recognized innovation strategy in the field of cellular agriculture. With this launch, which is expected to generate sufficient data to support the necessary adaptation of public policies, Genopole becomes a key player in shaping regulations in this crucial field.
“The involvement of Genopole in the APROVALS project allows us to increase our attractiveness to start-ups with innovative solutions, as well as to policymakers, who are responsible for adapting existing regulations to address the emergence of these new technologies. Moreover, this project strengthens our reputation as a leading incubator and accelerator at both national and European levels and allows us to improve our practices and capabilities in supporting innovation and scientific research in cellular agriculture, as well as contributing to measuring its impact on society,” explains Alexis Biton, International Affairs Coordinator at Genopole.
A first step: establishing an innovative testing environment
Designed to promote experimentation and accelerate market entry, this innovative testing environment will encourage collaboration, learning, risk management, and innovation. Users will engage in discussions, workshops, and interactions to identify challenges, explore potential solutions, and refine innovative regulatory concepts.
APROVALS is led by pioneering agri-food innovation clusters and networks across Europe, covering various regions:
- GENOPOLE, France (coordinateur)
- CAMPANIA BIOSCIENCE (CBIOS), Italie
- EUROPABIO (EUBIO), Belgique
- IRISH BIOECONOMY FOUNDATION (IBF), Irlande
- Planet B.io (PBIO), Pays-Bas
- SMILE INCUBATOR AB (SMILE), Suède
- Pôle VITAGORA (VITA), France
- TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY (VTT), Finlande
