Published: Mar 19, 2026 by FME Lab
At the BIOKET (Bioeconomy Key Enabling Technologies) conference in Fribourg, Julien presented recent advances from the SynthPlex project, positioning synthetic microbial ecology as a core tool for next-generation fermented foods.
The session, chaired by Damien Paineau, Ferments du Future CEO, brought together researchers and industry leaders working on biotechnology and sustainable food systems. Discussions spanned microbial fermentation, cellular agriculture, and scalable production systems, highlighting convergence across disciplines.
The BIOKET session emphasized a shared constraint across technologies: scaling from lab to industry. As highlighted by sessions speakers, success depends on robust bioprocess design, scalable production systems, and strong public–private partnerships. Within this landscape, SynthPlex contributes a complementary approach: engineering microbial ecosystems rather than single strains or cell lines. The long-term objective is clear: design fermented foods that are both functional and microbiome-aware, using rationally assembled microbial communities adapted to plant substrates.
