LAPPEENRANTA, FINLAND — Researchers in Finland have made food from electricity and carbon dioxide captured from the air. <br /> <br />The study is part of the joint Neo-Carbon Energy research project by scientists at Lappeenranta University of Technology and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. <br /> <br />The food-creating system uses a bioreactor, which contains water, microbes and nutrients such as nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus. <br /> <br />The electric current triggers electrolysis of the water and with carbon dioxide captured from the air, the end result of the chemical reaction produces a powdery edible compound. <br /> <br />The compound contains more than 50 percent protein, 25 percent carbohydrates and the rest is fats and nucleic acids. <br /> <br />“In practice, all the raw materials are available from the air,” Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, Principal Scientist at VTT said in a press release. <br /> <br />“In the future, the technology can be transported to, for instance, deserts and other areas facing famine. One possible alternative is a home reactor, a type of domestic appliance that the consumer can use to produce the needed protein.” <br /> <br />According to the UN, 795 million people are undernourished globally and another 2 billion people are expected to join them by 2050.
