Green Queen Media’s Post

💥 MicroHarvest has confirmed its ability to scale its production process to 10 tons per day, representing a ten-fold increase over its current capacity. By the end of 2026, it will be able to produce up to 15,000 tons annually. 🆙 The launch of its pilot plant in Lisbon has allowed the German startup to accelerate this path to commercialization of its single-cell #protein ingredients and contribute to a more resilient and eco-friendly #food system. 👩💼 MicroHarvest CEO Katelijne Bekers: "While many #biotechnology startups struggle to scale their #production beyond small pilot volumes of just a few kilos, we have successfully run pilots with 50-100 kg of product." 🐟 🌱 The Biotech startup plans to conduct trials in #salmon and #shrimp with several global aqua feed producers, covering millions of metric tons of #feed. https://lnkd.in/duSG6iax

Great to see our portfolio company Onego Bio covered in Green Queen Media latest piece, which looks at growing investment into the precision fermentation sector: "By the first quarter of 2024, fermentation-derived protein startups had already raised $228M, dwarfing plant-based investments ($58M). And this is before you include later rounds like Meati’s $100M Series C, Onego Bio’s $40M Series A, and Enifer’s $16M Series B. In Europe, too, fermentation companies witnessed a 12-fold increase in financing since 2020 to reach $76M last year." Read more at: https://lnkd.in/ewms7uv5

USD 5 million for yeast-based dairy alternatives: Cultivated Biosciences raises funding to prepare its market launch. Congratulations to the foodtech innovators Tomas Turner, Dimitri Zogg, Lucie Rein and their amazing team! https://lnkd.in/depRc4rf Investors include Navus Ventures B.V., Founderful, HackCapital, Lukas Böni (co-founder of Planted), US-based Joyful VC, Mandi Ventures, and Zürcher Kantonalbank. About: Today dairy causes 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Plant-based alternatives, although gaining traction, do not appeal to many consumers as they lack a creaminess for which the fat component is key. Cultivated Biosciences wants to fix this. The startup is developing a fat-rich ingredient from GMO-free yeast which offers the creaminess needed for plant-based dairy. This ingredient has a clean label and a sustainable production process. Cultivated Biosciences is a 2022 alumnus of Venture Kick and two-time laureate of the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award. #SwissStartups #FoodTech #VentureKick

Will the Netherlands Remain a Leader in the Alternative Protein Market? 🌱 The Netherlands is set to lead the alternative proteins revolution, with the market projected to reach €10 billion by 2030. However, startups and scale-ups face significant challenges in scaling up. Today, Foodvalley NL and Invest-NL release the report, Enhancing the Ecosystem for Alternative Protein Innovation: Strategies for Scaling Success. The report identifies key obstacles such as limited facility access, high costs, and complex regulations. A national strategy, smart investments in shared facilities, and innovative financing can help overcome these barriers, positioning the Netherlands as a leader in food innovation and sustainability. Curious about the report? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eXzDtUBV At Bodec, we recognize that strategic investments in independent ‘shared facilities’ are crucial for supporting start-ups and scale-ups, thereby advancing the alternative proteins revoluition. Implementing flexible access models makes facilities like Bodec’s more affordable for startups and scale-ups. This can be achieved through vouchers, subsidies, and innovative financing models. We hope these recommendations will be adopted and translated into concrete actions through policy. 💡💼 #AlternativeProteins #FoodInnovation #Sustainability #Netherlands #InvestNL #FoodvalleyNL #Bodec #AlternativeProteins #FoodInnovation #Sustainability #Netherlands #InvestNL #FoodvalleyNL #Bodec

Espoo-based biotech startup Enifer has secured €36M in fresh funding to build a food-grade mycoprotein factory in Kirkkonummi, Finland. 🚀💰 Set to be completed by the end of 2025 at a cost of €33M, the facility will convert food industry by-products into Enifer’s sustainable PEKILO fungi-based protein ingredients. According to the Finnish startup, this will be the world’s first commercial plant to produce mycoprotein from sidestream raw materials. Read more about it here: https://lnkd.in/gtpx4WXN Simo Ellilä, Joosu Kuivanen, Heikki Keskitalo, Ville Pihlajaniemi, Anssi Rantasalo, Taaleri, Nordic Foodtech VC, Voima Ventures, Valio, Ilmastorahasto - The Finnish Climate Fund, Finnvera, Toni Mikkonen #Biotech #Funding #SustainableFood

💰🧬 INSEMPRA SECURES $20M FOR FERMENTED LIPID EXPANSION Led by EQT Ventures, the Series A round builds on Insempra’s 2021 seed funding to bring its total raised to over $35M. Other participants included returning investors BlueYard Capital, Possible Ventures, Taavet+Sten and Acequia Capital, and new investors such as Henkel dx Ventures, Bayern Kapital and Alante Capital. The German startup plans to use the capital to scale up its technology, scouting, development and manufacturing capabilities, with the goal of turning oil yeast into lipids on an industrial scale using precision fermentation. “New technology platforms such as Insempra’s have the potential to dramatically change the manufacturing processes of multiple multibillion-dollar industries, developing customised ingredients to fit market needs,” said Ted Persson partner at EQT Ventures. Founded in 2020 by Andreas Heyl and Jens Klein, Insempra leverages new technologies to make bio-based alternatives to problematic ingredients and products for multiple applications and industries. many companies currently rely on oils and materials sourced from petrochemicals, which have a harmful effect on the planet and deplete our already limited natural resources. Lipids are compounds that come in the form of fats and oils that are ever-present in beauty, fashion and food product formulations. But currently, they mostly come from petrochemicals. “Lipids typically are either extracted from nature – you harvest the plant – or you can produce them petrochemical,” Klein, who is Insempra’s CEO, told TechCrunch. There are a host of companies producing lipids from sustainable ingredients. In the food industry itself, Australia’s Nourish Ingredients and California’s Yali Bio also use precision fermentation to produce fats and lipids, while Germany’s Planet A Foods (maker of cocoa-free chocolate ChoViva) is focusing on plant-based lipids. Swiss startup Cultivated Biosciences, meanwhile, similarly leverages yeast fermentation to produce lipids as part of its alternative dairy fat. #GreenQueen #altprorein #futurefoods #foodtech #sustainability

Cremer, a 78-year-old-German family-owned business with more than 2,600 employees and over 60 global legal entities, produces cereals and other commodities, makes oleochemical products for global fast moving consumer goods companies and trades in products ranging from molasses to minerals. Faced with the dual challenge of how to become more sustainable and transition to future-ready business models, the company looked at how it could leverage its know-how to develop innovative new business models and fuel growth. After sending its top executives through a program at UnternehmerTUM, The Center for Innovation and Business Creation at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Cremer, with its business unit DTC (Deutsche Tiernahrung Cremer) the largest privately owned provider of animal feed in Germany, decided to branch out into sustainable nutrition for humans. Cremer has set up an alternative protein unit and is becoming an innovative partner for #fermentation and #precisionfermentation #startups that need its know-how and fermentation media supply chain network to make #meat and #dairysubstitutes, says Philipp Schwarz, Cremer's head of corporate transformation. Cremer’s innovation journey – and how it is managing to bridge the old world and the new – provides some valuable insights into how traditional companies can transform their businesses. https://lnkd.in/evfvSFF5

Cremer, a 78-year-old-German family-owned business with more than 2,600 employees and over 60 global legal entities, produces cereals and other commodities, makes oleochemical products for global fast moving consumer goods companies and trades in products ranging from molasses to minerals. Faced with the dual challenge of how to become more sustainable and transition to future-ready business models, the company looked at how it could leverage its know-how to develop innovative new business models and fuel growth. After sending its top executives through a program at UnternehmerTUM, The Center for Innovation and Business Creation at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Cremer, with its business unit DTC (Deutsche Tiernahrung Cremer) the largest privately owned provider of animal feed in Germany, decided to branch out into sustainable nutrition for humans. Cremer has set up an alternative protein unit and is becoming an innovative partner for #fermentation and #precisionfermentation #startups that need its know-how and fermentation media supply chain network to make #meat and #dairysubstitutes, says Philipp Schwarz, Cremer's head of corporate transformation. Cremer’s innovation journey – and how it is managing to bridge the old world and the new – provides some valuable insights into how traditional companies can transform their businesses. https://lnkd.in/emcvVw9f

Millow.co—a Swedish startup known for minimally processed meat substitutes from oats and mycelium—has bagged a €2.4m grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator and up to €15m in equity funding from the EIC Fund under its blended finance scheme.  The firm, which has a pilot plant in Gothenburg, will use the grant funds to scale up its production process, which it claims uses a fraction of the water and energy used by brands such as Quorn, with lower capital expenditure. Chairman Staffan Hillberg explains: “The European Investment Bank has committed up to €15m in equity in one or more financial rounds, contingent on co-investment from private investors. “Millow has co-developed multiple SKUs with large food manufacturers. These products will initially launch in the Nordic market, with larger volumes expected in 2026. We are also in discussions with companies outside of Europe for a joint establishment once our Nordic factory is operational." AgFunder #meatalternatives #foodtech #altmeat #fermentation #cleanlabel Esmaeil Taherzadeh

Gothenburg’s Melt&Marble lands €2.76M EU grants to scale fermentation-based fats Melt&Marble, a Gothenburg-based company specializing in fermentation-based fats, has secured a total of €2.76 million in EU grants to enhance its innovative sustainable fat production. The company received a €2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) Accelerator, marking it as one of 68 European deep tech startups selected from a competitive pool of 969 applicants. This funding aims to commercialize Melt&Marble’s first products, MeatyMarble™ and DairyMarble™, which offer sustainable alternatives to animal fats. Additionally, the company secured €260,000 from the Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON), part of the EU’s “Farm to Fork” strategy, to develop dairy fats for enhancing dairy analogues. This financial boost will enable Melt&Marble to scale its process, advance product development, reduce production costs, and bring its innovative fats to market, thereby contributing to a more sustainable food system. https://lnkd.in/d2sZ8c9K #funding #nordicmade #sweden #foodtech #deeptech #startups #trending