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Five Postdoc positions for microbial CO₂ to Protein conversion

In a new project in CORC we are pursuing a radically different approach to produce protein from CO₂ and electricity by way of microbial fermentation. For this exciting project we are looking for five postdocs who are interested in working at the interface between microbiology, biochemistry, and microbial biotechnology, and want to contribute to developing a game-changing biological CO₂ to protein process.

The new research project will focus on a biotechnological approach to radically change how our society produces food and chemicals, in particular protein. Current agricultural production is inefficient, high CO₂ emitting, and relies heavily on fossil carbon resources. We are pursuing a fundamentally different approach to produce protein from CO₂ and electricity by using a microbial, and not plant-based, platform in a two-stage microbial fermentation. Renewable power is utilized to split water into H₂. H₂ plus CO₂  is fermented by acetogenic bacteria to produce acetate, which is fed into a second fermentation to produce many different protein products in aerobic fungi. Shifting from animal-based protein production to efficient and versatile biotechnology-based protein production is required to considerably reduce CO₂ emissions while feeding in the future 11 billion people on our planet.

Therefore we are looking for five postdoctoral research associates with different research experiences, including in anaerobic microbiology, biochemistry, bioprocess engineering (chemical engineering and environmental engineering), and biotechnology.

We envision four different projects that encompass research on:

  • Accessing CO₂ from different point sources for acetogenic fermentation.
  • Stability and productivity of acetogenic bacteria.
  • Integration of the two bioreactor stages
  • Chemostat optimizations and reactor designs.

Apply no later than June 1st, 2023 - read more and apply via Aarhus University's application system.