Solar Foods confirms 100-fold scaleup of Solein production at Factory 01

Solar Foods has achieved a key technical milestone, scaling up its proprietary Solein production technology 100-fold from pilot to industrial scale. The company confirmed that its first full-scale facility, Factory 01, has met the expected production parameters, enabling the launch of commercial operations in the USA.

Factory 01 began operations in April 2024 and produced Solein continuously for eight months before entering a scheduled maintenance break in May. With its technology now validated at commercial scale, Solar Foods is moving ahead with plans for Factory 02, currently in the pre-engineering phase. Based on current performance, the company said the next facility would be profitable.

“Factory 01 is a one-of-a-kind production facility unlike anything ever built before,” commented Petri Tervasmäki, Chief Technology Officer at Solar Foods. “Successfully scaling up production is a significant milestone in the development of our technology and the commercialization of Solein.”

Solein is a microbial protein made using gas fermentation, with carbon dioxide and hydrogen – generated using renewable energy – as primary inputs. The process is independent of land, weather, or climate, and relies on continuous fermentation of a natural microbe found in Finland. Factory 01 now operates a 20,000-liter bioreactor with a productivity of 0.8g/l/hr and an energy efficiency value (O₂/CO₂) of 2.7. Solar Foods’ pilot plant has reached 1.6g/l/hr, and the company aims to match this at full scale to improve cost-efficiency.

The scaling success comes at a pivotal time, as Solar Foods moves to expand its commercial footprint. The company began shipping Solein to the USA in late 2024 and has signed its first supply agreements. It also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two international customers covering a potential 6,000 tons of Solein annually – around 50% of Factory 02’s planned capacity.

“We were able to start commercialization activities for Solein in the United States at the very end of last year,” added Juan Manuel Benitez-Garcia, Chief Sales Officer at Solar Foods. “The feedback from customers has been bewilderingly positive: Solein receives constant praise for its excellent nutritional values, great taste and functionality.”

In parallel, Solar Foods has verified that Solein’s shelf life has increased from one year to two and continues to develop application concepts to demonstrate its suitability in a wide range of consumer products. With its end-to-end process under one roof, the company is positioning Solein as a resilient, scalable protein source that minimizes environmental impact and maximizes flexibility in food production.