London-based Adamo Foods has been awarded a significant €10 million ($11.7 million) grant from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme to scale up and commercialise its pioneering whole-cut mycelium meat. This substantial funding injection will fuel a three-year project, dubbed MycoStruct, dedicated to transforming industry sidestreams into a sustainable and nutritious protein source through advanced mycelium fermentation. The initiative marks a critical step forward in the development and market introduction of clean-label meat alternatives, with an initial focus on steak.
The grant originates from the Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU), a prominent €2 billion partnership between the EU and the Bio-Based Industries Consortium. This collaboration is strategically focused on funding projects that advance the circular bioeconomy across Europe, underscoring the EU’s commitment to fostering sustainable industrial practices and reducing reliance on conventional resource-intensive sectors. The MycoStruct project itself is a collaborative endeavour, bringing together a dozen leading companies and research institutions from across the region. Their collective expertise will be instrumental in helping Adamo Foods effectively valorise industrial byproducts and convert them into high-quality mycelium protein products, targeting what is currently the world’s largest market for meat analogues.
Since its inception in 2021, Adamo Foods has demonstrated consistent growth and innovation, having already secured approximately €5 million ($5.8 million) in investment. The company’s innovative approach also earned it a place in the 2025 cohort of EIT Food’s RisingFoodStars programme, a prestigious accelerator for agrifood technology scale-ups. The latest Horizon Europe grant represents a significant acceleration for Adamo Foods, enabling it to rapidly expand its operations towards industrial-scale production, in collaboration with some of Europe’s most established players in the food and fermentation industries.
Pierre Dupuis, founder and CEO of Adamo Foods, expressed his enthusiasm for the funding, highlighting its transformative potential. "We are running a submerged fermentation technology, currently in the process of scaling to our demo plant (>5,000 litres), and will reach 50,000 litres within the next three years," Dupuis stated. This ambitious scaling plan, supported by the EU grant, positions Adamo Foods to become a major force in the alternative protein market.
Addressing the Limitations of Current Meat Alternatives
Adamo Foods is strategically positioned to tackle the perceived shortcomings of existing meat alternatives, aiming to deliver products that rival animal protein in terms of taste, texture, nutritional profile, and cost-effectiveness. A key differentiator for the company is its innovative use of long and densely grouped mycelium fibres. This technique allows for the recreation of the complex muscle structure found in animal protein, crucially, without the need for any binders. This aligns perfectly with the growing consumer demand across Europe for "clean-label" food products – those with minimal, easily understandable ingredients.
Mycelium, the intricate, root-like structure of filamentous fungi, is not a new ingredient in the realm of meat analogues. It serves as a foundational component in established products such as Quorn’s steak and Matr Foods’ burgers, both of which utilize mycoprotein. However, Adamo Foods distinguishes itself through its proprietary technology. The company has developed a triple-patented fungal fermentation process that enables the production of nutritious, whole-cut meat alternatives with minimal additional ingredients.
A Superior Nutritional and Environmental Profile
The flagship product, Adamo Foods’ mycelium steak, exemplifies this innovation. It is formulated with a mere five ingredients, boasts a complete profile of all essential amino acids, and achieves an impressive protein digestibility score of 0.99 out of 1. This score surpasses that of common plant-based proteins like pea and soy, as well as wheat protein, and even edges out beef protein, underscoring its exceptional nutritional quality.
Beyond its sensory and nutritional advantages, Adamo Foods’ mycelium steak offers significant environmental benefits. The rapid growth rate of mycelium is a key factor; it can double in size every four hours. This allows for the production of an entire batch of protein in a single day. In stark contrast, plant-based steaks typically require three months for cultivation, and beef production spans approximately three years. Consequently, the fermentation-derived steak requires a fraction of the land resources and generates 93% fewer carbon emissions compared to its beef counterpart. This substantial reduction in environmental footprint makes it a compelling option for consumers and a vital component in the global transition towards more sustainable food systems.
Cost Parity and Scalability: A Strategic Advantage
A critical element of Adamo Foods’ strategy, as articulated by CEO Pierre Dupuis, is achieving cost parity from the outset. "We’ve built a technology with cost considerations at the top of our mind. This means we can launch at price parity from day one, and reduce our costs considerably as we scale," Dupuis explained. This focus on economic viability is crucial for widespread adoption, ensuring that sustainable protein options are accessible to a broad consumer base. The company’s commitment to cost-efficiency, coupled with its technological advancements, positions it to disrupt the traditional meat market.
The MycoStruct Project: A Collaborative Ecosystem for Waste Valorisation
The €10 million EU grant will significantly accelerate Adamo Foods’ transition from pilot production to commercial-scale deployment of its fermentation technology. The MycoStruct project is a testament to the power of European collaboration, bringing together a consortium of eleven partners. These partners include industry leaders such as Bühler, a global leader in process technology, and Bidfood Group, a major foodservice distributor, alongside research institutions like Bio Base Europe, TU Delft, and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO), and specialized entities like Celabor, TBW Research, TFTAK, Holoss, and Fenix TNT.
This broad spectrum of expertise will be leveraged to develop and implement sustainable feedstocks and advanced biotechnological innovations. The project’s objective is to efficiently scale production from existing pilot capabilities to robust commercial volumes. The MycoStruct initiative has already garnered significant recognition, having been awarded a STEP Seal from the European Commission. This prestigious award is a rare commendation for biotech projects, signifying high-quality innovation that is directly aligned with the EU’s overarching economic and climate objectives.
Future Outlook: Market Launch and Global Impact
Adamo Foods is strategically planning its market entry, with a focus on the UK foodservice sector for its initial launch, scheduled for next year. The EU market is anticipated to follow shortly thereafter. The company’s approach to scaling production prioritizes capital expenditure efficiency, with ongoing discussions with multiple partners for commercial manufacturing. This flexible strategy allows Adamo Foods to adapt to market demands while maintaining financial prudence.
"We’re not just creating another meat alternative; we’re building a scalable, circular bioeconomy that proves delicious, whole-cut steaks can be produced without the animal and affordably," Dupuis stated, underscoring the company’s vision beyond mere product development. The goal is to fundamentally reshape the global food system by demonstrating the viability and desirability of animal-free protein sources.
The €10 million grant is viewed as a transformative milestone for Adamo Foods and a powerful validation of its potential to effect significant change in the global food landscape. "This is a transformative milestone for Adamo and a powerful validation of our potential to reshape the global food system," Dupuis remarked. "We are looking forward to working with the consortium partners and other interested parties to scale even faster." This collaborative approach, supported by substantial EU funding and a consortium of leading organizations, positions Adamo Foods at the forefront of the burgeoning alternative protein industry, paving the way for a more sustainable, nutritious, and accessible food future. The success of MycoStruct will not only benefit Adamo Foods but also serve as a blueprint for other innovators seeking to develop and scale circular bioeconomy solutions within the European Union and beyond.
