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Once operational, the plant will have a production capacity of around 3 million kilograms of sustainable protein per year, equivalent to the amount of protein produced by 30,000 beef cows, but with at least 20 times less carbon emissions.
Business Finland has approved an investment grant of over €12 million for biotech start-up Enifer to build its first plant to produce mycoprotein ingredients from industrial by-products and waste streams, in line with the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan and the Sustainable Growth Agenda for Finland, reports Enifer in release.
The commercial-scale plant will produce unique mycoprotein ingredients using fungal fermentation using technology originally developed by Finnish forestry engineers in the 1970s, which converted forest industry by-products into sustainable feed protein for the domestic market.
Enifer has taken the original process many steps further and developed a food ingredient based on the original technology.
The product is a powder rich in protein and fiber, neutral in taste and color, which today can be used in the food industry in a similar way to vegetable proteins. The company plans to apply for regulatory approval for its food ingredient in the first half of 2024.
The facility's full capacity is designed to produce 3 million kilograms of sustainable, local protein per year, roughly equivalent to the protein content of 30,000 cows, but with at least 20 times less carbon emissions and significantly less water and land use. The plant is currently estimated to cost €30 million and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, with production scheduled to start in 2026.
Enifer is currently conducting basic design work for the facility with design and engineering company AFRY. The facility will be built in the Uusimaa region.
Enifer raised Series A funding of €11 million in the spring of 2023 and already has ongoing partnerships with major global companies in the feed and food industry, such as Skretting, Nutreco's global aquafeed division, Purina's aquafeed division pets and Valio for the production of consumer food products.
