ZEST (Valorization of Agro-Industrial Waste through Fungi Fermentation supported by Digital Modeling) is a European initiative co-financed by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE-JU) program, lasting four years, which will utilize the process of fungi fermentation to reduce the production of agro-industrial waste, one of the major environmental challenges identified by the European Union.
Fungi are highly versatile organisms capable of decomposing complex organic materials. Starting from this premise, ZEST proposes using this mechanism, known as fungal fermentation, to convert agro-industrial waste into proteins and other valuable compounds, thereby promoting circularity in the food production process.
To this end, the ZEST project, which has a total budget of €7.5M, will rely on artificial intelligence (AI) as a great ally, as it will allow for the monitoring and control of fermentation conditions, ensuring the highest possible yield in the aforementioned decomposition process.
The initiative, which is coordinated by the Danish Technological Institute, is driven by a collaborative consortium of twelve entities from five European countries.
