LIFE Waste2Protein: How substantial was the support you've been receiving from the LIFE programme?

LIFE Waste2Protein (madebymade) addresses the challenges of food waste and animal feed by recycling organic residues into insect protein. This innovative solution has earned them the prestigious 2024 LIFE Award for Circular Economy and Quality of Life. Motivated by the recognition and support received from the LIFE Programme, the team has recently submitted a proposal for a new LIFE project. madebymade is selling its products across Europe and planning to establish facilities in Germany, Austria, and other European countries.

What’s your solution about and which issues does it address? 

Moritz Gold: We are working on recycling agri-food byproducts and biowaste with insects. We collect biowaste and every food byproducts that are currently not used, from supermarkets, food industry and agriculture. Insect larvae feed on these materials, transforming them into protein-rich, lipid-packed biomass and organic fertilizer. We came up with this idea after noticing the large amount of food waste that goes unmanaged. 

On the other hand, there is a high demand for feed materials, such as soybean, fishmeal, and other high-protein ingredients used in raising chickens and fish. However, these feed ingredients are associated with significant negative environmental impacts, including deforestation for soy and overfishing for fishmeal. We aim to address these challenges by producing protein- and lipid-rich biomass, which can substitute these ingredients, while also helping to manage food waste that is currently not being properly utilized.

What was the impact of receiving the 2024 LIFE Award for Circular Economy and Quality of Life? 

Moritz Gold: We were awarded the LIFE Award 2024 in the category of Circular Economy and Quality of Life for our Waste2Protein project. It was a real honour for us and also encouraged us to propose another LIFE project that builds on its success.

How substantial was the support you've been receiving from the LIFE programme? 

 
Moritz Gold: I don’t think we, as a company, would be where we are today without the LIFE Programme. It played a crucial role in helping us develop a prototype over several years. What started as a garage-style concept—essentially a decentralized insect farm—has now evolved into a nearly market-ready solution. Without LIFE, madebymade wouldn’t be where we are now. Thanks to this funding, we have transitioned from an idea to a commercial product, which we are now selling and scaling across Europe. The LIFE project was essential in getting us to this point, and today, we are seeing the results in our plans to set up facilities in Germany, Austria, and other European countries.
 

Would you recommend other projects apply for the Life Programme? 
 
Moritz Gold: Definitively. My advice would be to take enough time to plan your LIFE project application—this is not something that can be done in just a few weeks. I am not just saying this after recently submitting another LIFE project; it truly requires a lot of time and effort. It is not a straightforward process.

It's essential to start early, seek support, and focus on the conceptualization and quantification of environmental impacts. After all, LIFE is all about making a positive environmental impact—so you need to clearly define and measure your methods.

Additionally, LIFE is a significant undertaking, especially for young companies. During the execution phase, ensure that you allocate sufficient resources, particularly for project management. For us, it has been incredibly valuable, both from a technical perspective and an organizational one. It has helped us grow into a more mature company. I would highly recommend the LIFE programme to any company or research institute looking to make a real impact.

Know more about the project in our project fiche.

How LIFE helps close-to-market projects

madebymade is one of the companies supported under LIFE’s close-to-market (C2M)

activities.

C2M helps LIFE beneficiaries bring their innovative solutions into the market. A dedicated team with extensive business and financial experience supports close-to-market projects with business coaching, advisory on business plan development, presentation guidance and expert connection, among other activities.

Looking for support to develop your cleantech solution and bring it to the market? Check out our LIFE Close-to-market page.