SINGAPORE FOOD STORY HHP & MTC IAF-PP GRANT CALL ON FUTURE FOODS: ADVANCED BIOTECH-BASED PROTEIN PRODUCTION

About the Grant

To develop industry-ready capabilities towards deepening alignment of public sector research, and to develop multidisciplinary and integrated programmes with early industry involvement in the area of alternative protein.

Thematic Areas

Microbial Proteins
Plant-based Proteins/Protein Screening-Discovery, Processing and Formulation Platforms
Cultured Meat

Prioritised Grant Topics and Areas of Focus:

	Plant-based Proteins/Microbial Proteins/Cultured Meat
Upstream Sourcing, Discovery and Species Optimization	Discovery of new sustainable protein sources and high value, unique functional ingredients
	Discovery and production of healthy and sustainable lipid/fat ingredients to complement alternative proteins
Downstream Scale-up and Product Formulation	Precision fermentation of protein biomass and production optimization of functional high value ingredients.
	Technology development for end-product formulation
	Scale-up and pilot facilities for advanced production and manufacturing of alternative proteins.
Others	Alternative Protein from side stream valorisation

Please refer to the Information Deck for more details.

GRANT FUNDING QUANTUM

Up to S$16M per programme/proposal (inclusive of 20% indirect cost)

OVERALL CRITERIA

Feasibility of meeting food security and food resilience goals for Singapore

Competitiveness of the technology at the regional and global levels

Viability of the project plans and business model, including plans for productisation and commercialisation

Careful consideration to developing proteins with enhanced nutrition or health benefits, with deliberation on regulatory approval and consumer acceptance to the technologies/solutions/product derived from this programme

Clarity of the pathway to value capture for Singapore and possible exportable models

Overall attractiveness of the deliverables to the industry with committed support from the industry partners

Applicants are highly encouraged to address the prioritised grant areas, although meritorious proposals in other relevant and highly related areas will be considered, albeit at a lower priority. Technology development for scale-up in alternative proteins and/or for discovery of functional ingredients that can be advanced into product development for holistic products are priorities of this grant call. The projects should have both industry relevance and commercial viability that contribute towards building food security and resilience in Singapore are considered highly relevant. The objective of this IAF-PP is to develop technologies for scale-up in alternative proteins and/or for discovery of functional ingredients that can be advanced into product development for holistic products. Technologies and programmes that have industry relevance and commercial viability to contribute towards building food security and resilience in Singapore are considered highly relevant.

Given that programmes supported by the IAF-PP Funding schemes are expected to lead to industry investments, applicants should articulate the industry engagement plans, provide industry support/validation, as well as the manpower resources required to drive this industry engagement effort and in executing future industry contracts.

Applicants must also consider the following factors when conceptualizing their proposal:

1. Business Development

To outline possible business models and roadmaps to commercialization in the current competitive landscape and the team’s industry engagement strategy
Demonstrate the commercial viability of the technologies
Previous experience of the institutions’ business development team

2. Food Regulatory Compliance

To map out the process toward food regulatory compliance for the final product and/production process to be in line with local and/or global food safety regulations

3. Sustainability of Production
To ensure that technologies developed are sustainable based on these factors:

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
Increasing energy and/or resource efficiency
Sustainable waste management practices towards circular economy

4. Food resiliency, Food Security and the “30 by 30” goal

To frame ideas to meet the goals of the Singapore Food Story

Eligibility

Programme Director should:

hold at least 0.7 FTE primary appointment in a Singapore publicly funded research or tertiary education;
run a laboratory or research programme that carries out research in Singapore; and
have a track record of leadership ability in coordinating research programmes and providing mentorship to research team, as well as having productive research outcomes.

Application Procedure

LOIs submissions
Applicants are to complete and fill out all sections of the LOI template. All completed LOIs must be submitted via email to a-star_sfsrnd@hq.a-star.edu.sg by 20 September 2021, 1800H (SGT).

Full proposal submission

All applications must be endorsed by either the Grants Research Office, Industry Liaison Office (ILO) or the Tech Transfer Office (TTO) of the Host Institution of the Lead/Corresponding PI. The proof of endorsement should take the form of a PDF copy of the endorsement email.
All completed and endorsed proposals and applications must be submitted via email to the SFS Joint Programme Office: a-star_sfsrnd@hq.a-star.edu.sg by 5 November 2021, 2359H (SGT). Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered.

More details on the IAF-PP Grant funding scheme are available.

Application Materials

Awarded Proposals

The list of projects that have been awarded under SFS Theme 2 IAF-PP on Advanced Biotech-Based Protein Production can be found in the link below:

SFS Theme 2 IAF-PP on Advanced Biotech-Based Protein Production Awardees

For Enquiries

Please email a-star_SFSRND@hq.a-star.edu.sg for further enquiries.