Francesco Riccobono operates a 3-D printing system in Barcelona, Spain, to produce a meat substitute that mimics the texture and appearance of a real steak. The printed product comprises pea protein, beetroot juice, and other plant-based ingredients. Such substitutes can play a role in reducing the large environmental footprint left by farming cattle and other livestock. 
2023 Photo Contest, Europe, Long-Term Projects

Net-Zero Transition

Photographer

Simone Tramonte

14 October, 2022

Francesco Riccobono operates a 3-D printing system in Barcelona, Spain, to produce a meat substitute that mimics the texture and appearance of a real steak. The printed product comprises pea protein, beetroot juice, and other plant-based ingredients. Such substitutes can play a role in reducing the large environmental footprint left by farming cattle and other livestock. 

This project documents different technologies that offer possible routes of transition to a net-zero economy. The photographer visited innovative facilities across Europe, from Iceland to Italy, from 2020 to 2022.

Human-induced climate change is the largest, most pervasive threat to the natural environment and society that the world has ever experienced, according to the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR. This prompted the European Union to establish targets to cut greenhouse emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 and to reduce them to net-zero by 2050. European companies seeking ways to achieve these goals are exploring renewable energies, new technologies for food production, and the circular economy as potential ways forward.

Simone Tramonte
About the photographer

Simone Tramonte is a photographer whose work focuses on documenting social and environmental contemporary issues. His interest focuses on analyzing the relationship between people and the environment and aims to document how innovative technologies can shape them towards a more sustainable future.  After obtain...

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Technical information
Shutter Speed

1/80

ISO

100

Camera

ILCE-7RM4

Jury comment

This project is an impressive example of solutions based journalism wherein the photographer's commitment to gaining access and incredible research offers a unique perspective into European efforts to secure a sustainable future. The project boasted beautiful aesthetics and its clinical scientific approach gives the audience space to visualize and conceptualize each solution without leading with emotion. The project is thought provoking and demonstrates the relationship between the scale of the crisis and the scale of solutions.