Scientists Have Managed To Make Food From Electricity, Microbes, Water and Carbon dioxide.

If you know your Harry Potter, you would know that one of the Five Principal Exceptions to Gamp’s Law is food,i.e, you can’t make food appear out of thin air, even in the magical world. Now, what if we tell you that scientists have discovered a way to create an edible protein using electricity instead of traditional growing methods. Finnish researchers have managed to create a single cell protein that is nutritious enough for one proper meal.

This process requires only electricity, water, carbon dioxide and microbes. This was carried out as a part of Food From Electricity project, which is a collaboration between the Lappeenranta University of Technology and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

The raw materials are exposed to electrolysis in a bio reactor. A chemical reaction is carried out inside the bio reactor. After separation and drying, the result is a powdery, edible protein that can be used in food or as animal feed. This consist of more than fifty percent of protein and 25 percent of carbohydrates.

Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, VTT’s principal scientist believes that it will take about a decade before a more efficient version of the system will become widely available as it almost takes the bio reactor two weeks for just one gram of protein.The team, according to a press release, is focused on developing “reactor concepts, technology, improving efficiency, and controlling the process.”

The team believes that once this project is developed completely, they can start producing on a large scale and help to eradicate world hunger.