Mikkel Hansen

Mikkel Hansen is an active Postdoc researcher at the National Food Institute (DTU Food), Technical University of Denmark, specializing in microbial biotechnology and biorefining for sustainable food systems. His work directly supports UN Sustainable Development Goals related to food security and responsible consumption, with a focus on converting green biomasses into viable protein sources for human nutrition.

Education

• PhD in Food Science and Technology, Technical University of Denmark, 2023 (Thesis: Green Biomasses as a Source of Protein for Human Consumption)

Research Interests

Hansen’s expertise centers on plant protein extraction from legumes and grasses, particularly alfalfa (Medicago sativa). He pioneers biorefining techniques to recover protein concentrates while eliminating off-flavors (e.g., 'taste of hay') through methods like supercritical CO₂ treatment. His work extends to mycelium-based meat alternatives using Pleurotus ostreatus cultivated on pre-fermented byproducts, integrating food engineering, microbial biotechnology, and nutritional science for scalable sustainable food solutions.

Publication Trends

His 2022-2024 publications reveal a cohesive focus on alfalfa and grass protein valorization. Key themes include scaling screw-press protein recovery, using agricultural residues (sugar beet pulp) for fermentation media, and eliminating off-flavors in concentrates. The work bridges food engineering (pressing, CO₂ treatment), microbial biotechnology (pre-fermentation, mycelium growth), and sustainable food systems, with applications in meat alternatives and nutritional quality improvement.

Advising and Grants

Hansen has no formal advisees. He was a PhD student in two funded projects: the DTU PhD project "Green biomasses as a source of protein for human consumption" (2019-2023) supervised by Peter R. Jensen and Tim J. Hobley, and the "InnoGrass" project (2019-2021) led by Jensen. These projects addressed sustainable protein extraction from green biomasses, with outputs including his thesis and peer-reviewed articles.

Laboratory Affiliation

He operates within DTU Food’s Research Group for Microbial Biotechnology and Biorefining, leveraging expertise in pressing, fermentation, and biorefining to optimize protein recovery from agricultural residues while improving digestibility and sensory properties for food applications.