On May 31, 2024, the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein launched at North Carolina State University. The Bezos Earth Fund awarded NC State $30 million over five years to lead a center of excellence to create a biomanufacturing hub for dietary proteins that are environmentally friendly, healthy, tasty, and affordable. The Earth Fund has committed $100 million to establish a network of open-access research and development centers focused on sustainable protein alternatives, expanding consumer choices.

The center will engage partners from academia and industry to research, create, and commercialize new technologies, provide training for the emerging industry workforce, and gauge consumers’ protein preferences.

Protein is essential to human health, whether it comes from animal or plant sources. Without the amino acids in protein, our cells, tissues and organs can’t function. And as the global population expands, the health of both humans and the planet will increasingly depend on widespread availability of proteins that taste good and are produced in ways that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect nature.

The grant funding will support research on three types of sustainable proteins: plant-based products; precision fermentation to produce proteins and nutrients that can be used in food formulations; and cultivated meat grown from animal cells.

NC State will work with academic partners N.C. A&T State University, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Duke University, and Forsyth Tech Community College on the research, workforce development, and community engagement efforts. More than 20 industry partners will also be part of the center, which will facilitate technology transfer and student internships and mentorships.