Finnish biotech start-up Enifer has raised a total of €36m to support the construction of its new mycoprotein factory in Kirkkonummi, Finland.
Set to be completed by the end of 2025, with a projected cost of €33m, the new facility will convert food industry side streams into Enifer’s Pekilo fungi-based protein ingredient. According to the start-up, the site will be the world’s first commercial plant to produce this kind of mycoprotein ingredient from side stream raw materials.
It will produce up to 3,000 tons of Pekilo per year, enough to cover the annual protein needs of approximately 40,000 people, Enifer revealed. The factory will be built within an existing industrial building in Kantvik, Kirkkonummi. The site is a short drive away from Enifer’s R&D facilities in Helsinki, and offers steam, electricity, process and cooling water, and wastewater treatment facilities.
The funding package comprises a new €15 million Series B equity funding round led by Finnish private equity fund Taaleri Bioindustry Fund I, with follow-on investments from existing shareholders Nordic Foodtech VC, Voima Ventures, and Valio. This is complemented by a €7 million capital loan from the Finnish Climate Fund, a €2 million loan from Finnvera, and a previously reported €12 million grant from Business Finland, bringing the total funding raised to €36 million.
Enifer plans to ramp up operations at the factory in 2026, set to produce 500kg of mycoprotein per hour once the site is at full capacity. It will harbour a full-sized industrial fermenter, measuring more than 12 metres tall and 4.5 metres in diameter, to grow the Pekilo ingredient.
The Pekilo fermentation process was originally developed in Finland in the 1970s, used to upcycle forest industry side streams into feed-grade mycoprotein. Enifer has adapted the process to utilise raw material streams from food and agricultural industries, developing a food-grade version of the Pekilo ingredient.
Pekilo mycoprotein powder offers a source of protein and fibre, and is neutral in colour and taste, making it suitable for a diverse range of food applications. Enifer and its partners have already demonstrated its use across meat and dairy alternatives, baking, pastries and snacks.
The company will file for Novel Foods approval of the ingredient in 2024 and expects to receive approval during 2026. It will employ around 15 people during regular operations of the new site, and more than double this number during construction and commissioning.
Simo Ellilä, CEO and co-founder of Enifer, said: “Mycoprotein is the missing ingredient for a more sustainable food chain – the facility in Kantvik serves as a key steppingstone on our path to making mycoprotein a cornerstone of protein supply, with several future factories already being planned”.
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