Juan García Martínez

I evaluate non-agricultural food technologies that can scale quickly during shocks—many of which are alternative proteins. My focus is techno-economic analysis, ramp-up modeling, and systems integration for gas-fermentation single-cell protein (methane- and hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria). Concretely, I quantify plant counts, CAPEX/OPEX, energy use, oxygen-transfer limits, and mineral bottlenecks, then translate those into deployment timelines, costs, and procurement plans. For methanotroph SCP, my findings indicate retail costs on the order of ~$3–5/kg (dry) with the ability—under continuous build-out—to supply roughly 7–11% of global protein in year one and approach sufficiency in ~3–4 years, enabling human-food applications (meat analogs, blends, ready-to-eat formats) rather than just aquafeed. I also evaluate these products as part of emergency response to show how input stockpiles, pre-approved processes, and emergency procurement can deliver rapid, large-scale protein during crises. I’m interested in collaborators who want to explore the food resilience aspects of non-agricultural alternative protein and alternative fat technologies, including their resilience to climate variability, environmental degradation and pollution, pests, pathogens, and trade restrictions.