A new European research project, SpeedyFermHub, has officially kicked off in San Michele all’Adige, Italy. Coordinated by Fondazione Edmund Mach, the project brings together 11 partners from across Europe and beyond to develop innovative plant-based fermented foods and support the transition towards more sustainable and resilient food systems.

At the heart of SpeedyFermHub is the ambition to speed up the development of new fermented products. To achieve this, the project will create a fast, multidisciplinary platform combining food microbiology, sensory and analytical sciences, and artificial intelligence. This integrated approach will help researchers and innovators design and optimise fermentation processes more efficiently than with traditional methods.

Over the next three years, the consortium will work on the development of three high-protein plant-based fermented food prototypes, alongside AI-based predictive tools and new microbial resources to foster innovation in the foodtech sector.

The project officially started with a kick-off meeting held on 29–30 April, bringing together partners from eight countries, including research organisations, universities and innovation centres.

By bridging science, technology and practical applications, SpeedyFermHub aims to contribute to more sustainable food production and to meet the growing demand for innovative, plant-based food solutions.

SpeedyFermHub is funded by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests within the framework of the European partnership FutureFoodS, and co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme.