Plants on the Plate

NC State will be a leader in biomanufacturing research and at the center of shaping the future of how we eat after receiving a five-year, $30 million grant awarded by the Bezos Earth Fund. The $10 billion fund was started by Jeff Bezos in 2020 to address climate and nature dilemmas through grants.

The grant, announced in May, will establish the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at NC State, a hub housing academic researchers and industry partners who will focus on enabling technologies used in scaling up manufacturing protein products that extend beyond those sourced from animals. That includes proteins from plants, microorganisms that can make proteins, and meat cultivated and grown from animal cells.

“This $30 million is going to put us at the forefront nationally and internationally,” says Rohan Shirwaiker, James T. Ryan Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and co-director of the center along with Bill Aimutis, executive director of the N.C. Food Innovation Lab. “This is the first and largest grant in this area that anybody has received around the world.”

The Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at NC State, which will be headquartered in Fitts-Woolard Hall, will feature what Shirwaiker calls three “pillars.” A research and development team will look to improve materials used in extracting proteins and manufacturing processes used for alternative protein products. A workforce development team will establish best practices used in training students and workers in advanced food technologies. And a community outreach team will establish connections with and seek buy-in from policy-makers, consumers, restaurants and farmers.

“Why it’s exciting for North Carolina is it’s really addressing the critical problem of food security,” says Shirwaiker. “This is creating more choice and opportunities for the future. This is really about working with traditional farmers, industry and others, expanding and strengthening our food system completely.”

The center, Shirwaiker says, features over 25 faculty and professional staff from four colleges across campus, including engineering, CALS, textiles and education. And it is working with close to 25 industry partners, including start-ups making plant-based products.

“This is a big thing for North Carolina as a whole — certainly NC State,” Shirwaiker says. “We’ve been strong in agriculture. We’ve been strong in manufacturing. We’ve been strong in biotechnology. This is really helping tie things up.”