Adisseo declines to renew Calysseo shareholder loan as FeedKind plant remains suspended

Adisseo has announced that it will not continue providing financial assistance to Calysseo, its 50/50 single-cell protein joint venture with US technology company Calysta, citing ongoing technical and commercial challenges at the venture's production facility in Chongqing, China.

• Adisseo will not continue financial assistance to Calysseo following the expiry of a US$16.25 million shareholder loan.
• The Chongqing facility was developed to manufacture FeedKind, Calysta's methane fermentation-derived single-cell protein for aquaculture, pet food, and other animal nutrition applications.
• Adisseo and Calysta said they continue to work together to identify solutions for the joint venture.

In a Shanghai Stock Exchange announcement, Adisseo said the facility remains suspended while technical upgrades are implemented to enable the plant to reach its intended design capacity. The company said Calysseo requires "substantial and sustainable financial support" to complete those upgrades but is currently facing a severe shortage of working capital.

Adisseo said the joint venture is facing challenges arising from "the inherent complexity and uncertainty of biotechnology R&D", together with "greater-than-anticipated difficulties in production scale-up", unsuccessful attempts to secure external financing, and what it described as significant challenges within the feed substitute protein market.

Calysseo was established in 2020 to commercialize FeedKind, Calysta's methane fermentation-derived single-cell protein for aquaculture, pet food, and other animal nutrition applications. The Chongqing facility was developed as the first commercial-scale manufacturing site for FeedKind.

The joint venture previously reported a series of commercial milestones. In February 2024, China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) approved FeedKind for use in aquaculture feeds, allowing commercial sales in one of the world's largest aquaculture markets. Three months later, German manufacturer Dr Clauder's launched what was described as the world's first dog treats containing FeedKind Pet protein. In August 2024, Calysta announced the first major international shipments of FeedKind Pet from the Chongqing facility to Europe, describing the exports as the beginning of global commercial supply. At the time, the partners said the site housed two fermenters, each with a nameplate capacity of 10,000 tons per year.

The latest announcement indicates that the focus has since shifted from initial commercialization to resolving the technical and financial challenges associated with sustained industrial production.

Adisseo had previously agreed to provide Calysseo with financial assistance through a shareholder loan of up to US$16.25 million, subject to proportionate support from the joint venture's other shareholder. According to the company, the loan matured on June 30, 2026, with an outstanding principal balance of approximately US$11.9 million. The company said the conditions for renewing the loan had not been met, specifically stating that Calysseo no longer meets the conditions required to receive further proportionate financial assistance and that, "acting on the principle of prudence", it had decided not to renew the loan.

The announcement follows disclosures in Adisseo's 2025 annual report, which stated that the Chongqing facility had been shut down to allow technical upgrades aimed at achieving its intended operating capacity. The report also noted that Adisseo and Calysta were working to identify potential solutions while seeking additional financing.

Financial information released by Adisseo shows Calysseo generated revenue of approximately US$710,000 during 2025 while recording a net loss of approximately US$15.5 million. At the end of the year, the joint venture reported total assets of approximately US$78.7 million and net assets of approximately US$14.8 million.

Adisseo has also recognised a bad debt provision relating to the shareholder loan. The company said the potential financial impact had already been reflected in its 2025 financial statements and represented a relatively small proportion of its overall net assets.

Despite its decision not to continue financial assistance, Adisseo said it continues to work with Calysta to identify potential solutions and support efforts to address Calysseo's going-concern position.

The latest announcement represents a change in focus for the project. Following regulatory approvals, initial commercial product launches, and the first international shipments of FeedKind, Adisseo's latest disclosures indicate that the immediate priority is completing technical upgrades and securing the financing required to enable the Chongqing facility to achieve its intended operating capacity.

Neither Adisseo nor Calysta indicated that development of the FeedKind technology itself had ceased. Both companies said they continue to seek solutions for the joint venture.