This innovative 3D Carrot printer is aiming to address global food insecurity. Here's how

Doha, Qatar

Two students from Qatar, Mohammad Annan (20) and Lujain Al Mansoori (21), have developed a groundbreaking 3D printer that they say has the potential to alleviate food insecurity on a global scale. Al Jazeera, while reporting on this, said that their creation uses artificially grown vegetable cells and UV light to create edible vegetables. This marks a significant advancement in the world of 3D printing technology. 

Both of them are studying information systems at Doha's Carnegie Mellon University. They have also achieved recognition by winning the top prize in the FoodTech category at the Business Incubation and Acceleration Hackathon, hosted by Qatar Development Bank in August.

Unique 3D printer

In their quest to create a 3D printer capable of producing edible vegetables efficiently, the two students built their machine by gathering necessary components from all across the world. Traditionally, 3D-printed edibles were made from purees of conventionally grown vegetables or fruits. However, these methods were ill-suited for mass production.

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Annan and Al Mansoori enhanced existing masked stereolithography technology, which uses ultraviolet light to set the "inks." This modification allows for rapid and large-scale printing compared to previous 3D printing techniques.

Explaining their innovation, Annan stated, "[Our] technology supports mass production because it uses ultraviolet light. This type of printing has been done before using ultraviolet light with resin, but it's never been done before using edible material."

Challenges while creating the tech 

One of the significant challenges faced by the two scientists has been making their technology understandable and accessible to a broader audience.

Annan noted the importance of bridging the gap in communication, stating, "There is a learning curve to be able to communicate it clearly so that it's not too alien. How do we communicate this without seeming like we're crazy?"

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In Qatar, where only 2.5 per cent of the land is arable, food security is a pressing concern. Annan highlighted the nation's heavy reliance on imports and its recent efforts to reduce this dependency by cultivating its own food.

However, converting non-arable land into fertile soil is expensive and challenging. The 3D printing of lab-grown vegetables or fruits offers a promising alternative.

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“We focused on carrots as a proof of concept because they are the most researched type of vegetable especially in terms of stem cells. But in the future we hope to look at fruits and vegetables that are very climate specific and rare to actually print those vegetables,” Al Mansoori said.