Ergo Bioscience
Validating plant cell biotechnology to unlock sustainable protein and ingredient production
The challenge
Proteins are a key ingredient in a wide range of everyday products across food, cosmetics, healthcare, and agriculture. Global demand for protein is rising rapidly, putting pressure on food systems and natural resources. Traditional animal-derived production methods are resource-intensive and contribute significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water use, and land consumption. As a result, there is growing momentum toward more sustainable, next-generation protein production platforms to replace animal-based, low-yield, or unsustainable ingredients.
Plant cell culture offers a sustainable alternative, using plants as miniature factories to produce high-value proteins and metabolites for food, health and beauty products. But as a developing technology, it still needs independent validation to prove its reliability, efficiency and scalability before it can reach the market.
Ergo Bioscience, an Argentinian start-up, is pioneering this field with its Eukarya™ platform, a plant cell biotechnology system that combines artificial intelligence (AI), genetic engineering and automated molecular biology. The platform enables the creation of plant cell lines that produce recombinant proteins and metabolites with precision and consistency, paving the way for the production of sustainable, animal-free ingredients.
To strengthen confidence in its technology and prepare for commercialisation, Ergo worked with with CPI to independently assess and validate its platform.
“We have found a valuable partner in CPI, enabling us to validate our plant cell culture platform from both a techno-economic standpoint and in terms of technology transfer documentation. The collaboration helped us identify key areas for optimisation and improvement, which we are already addressing. This has been a highly positive iteration, and we are very pleased with the outcomes of this initial collaboration.”
How CPI helped
- Analysed Ergo’s process documentation and identified improvements to strengthen reproducibility and scalability.
- Carried out a techno-economic analysis to evaluate cost-effectiveness and commercial potential across different product types.
- Provided independent validation and detailed recommendations to support investor confidence and future technology transfer.
Achievements
- Built credible, independent evidence of the platform’s performance.
- Enhanced documentation and experimental design for smoother future partnerships, such as transfer to a CMO or partner organisation.
- Generated insights to guide investment and scale-up plans.
Impact
Ergo’s work with CPI marks a major step forward in the commercialisation of plant cell biotechnology. The independent assessment confirmed the platform’s potential to produce sustainable, high-value ingredients for food, health and beauty applications, reducing reliance on animal-based systems and supporting a more ethical and environmentally responsible supply chain.
The work performed aims to strengthen investor confidence in Ergo’s technology and improve its ability to attract funding for the next stage of the company’s development. In addition, by having clearer process documentation and cost insights, the platform is now better positioned for collaboration with manufacturing partners and customers.
Beyond commercial readiness, the environmental benefits are substantial. Producing proteins through this approach could cut GHG emissions by up to 97%, reduce blue water consumption by 99%, and lower non-renewable energy use by 60% compared with traditional protein production. Even a small-scale global rollout could prevent tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions and save enough water to fill hundreds of thousands of Olympic-sized swimming pools.
By combining scientific innovation with independent validation, Ergo and CPI are demonstrating how plant cell biotechnology can help build a more sustainable and resilient future for global ingredient production.
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