Europe’s protein supply is at the crossroads of climate goals, food security needs, and innovation demands. Current barriers include:

• Technical barriers in production processes
• Environmental sustainability challenges (high carbon footprint, water usage, transportation costs, pesticide use and GHG emissions)
• Low revenue for producers or inadequate business models
• Low utilisation of smart farming and AI tools
• By-product management
• Processing challenges such as protein extraction and food formulation
• Consumer acceptance of alternative protein sources
• Marketing challenges
• New-product development
• Local/national/EU-level regulatory and policy gaps resulting in insufficient production support frameworks etc.

To this end, the 1^st RefreSCAR Hackathon invites a diverse set of actors such as post-graduate students, post-doctoral research fellows, researchers, small and medium enterprises, innovators, practitioners, policymakers and practitioners,  food and feed producers/processors and other value chain actors (e.g. wholesalers, retailers, consumers) to pair their knowledge and expertise in order to co-develop local protein value chain blueprints, identify priority interventions, and propose scalable, context-specific solutions aimed at enhancing Europe's protein sector.

📍 Location: Vienna, Austria
 📅 Dates: 20–21 November 2025
 👥 Format: In-person, two-day innovation event
 💡 Teams: Up to 6 interdisciplinary groups selected to participate

Over two days, teams will participate in brainstorming and breakout sessions culminating in pitching their solutions to an expert jury.

Applications are welcomed from diverse teams of:

• Startups and SMEs Representatives in agriculture, food, or biotech sectors
• Post-graduate students, Post-doctoral research fellows and Researchers in diverse scientific disciplines, including social sciences and humanities
• Policymakers and Practitioners with expertise in protein value chains
• Food and Feed Producers/Processors and other value chain actors e.g. wholesalers, retailers, consumers

Each team must consist of 2–4 members. One application per team is required.

All applicants must be residents in Member States of the European Union or non-EU countries associated with Horizon Europe.

All applicants must be over the age of 18 years at the time of application submission.

The hackathon includes several phases:

1. Open Call & Nomination (September–October) – Teams form, identify local protein value chain challenges, and submit a proposal.

2. Evaluation – Proposals assessed according to evaluation criteria

3. Invitation – Up to 6 teams selected and onboarded with preparatory materials. Travel, meals, and accommodation will be organised by RefreSCAR

4. Hackathon Event (20-21 November) – Two days of co-creation and pitching in Vienna.

Winning solutions will be promoted across RefreSCAR’s website, social media channels and integrated into outreach activities, amplifying their visibility and impact. The hackathon outputs will feed into SCAR’s strategic work, helping to shape future research, innovation, and policy discussions around sustainable protein supply.

Interested teams are invited to complete the online application form by:

📝 Downloading the Call for Applications

👉 Filling in the EU Survey Application Link

Applications must be submitted by 12^th October 2025, 21:00 CET.

 For additional information, please contact:

📧 valentina@foodscalehub.com | marina@foodscalehub.com

🌐 https://scar-europe.org/home-scar/refrescar