Solar Foods hits full capacity at world-first Factory 01, plans 44% boost in 2026

Solar Foods has achieved full design capacity at its first commercial-scale facility, Factory 01, marking a major milestone in the commercialization of its air-based protein, Solein. The Finnish company confirmed that production has now reached parameters enabling the site to operate at its intended output of 160 tons per year.

Factory 01, located in Vantaa, began operations in April 2024. After a scheduled maintenance break during the summer, Solar Foods successfully ramped production back up, achieving a productivity rate of 1 g/l/h and an energy efficiency value (O₂/CO₂) of 2.7. These figures allow the plant to run at full design capacity using gas fermentation technology that converts carbon dioxide and hydrogen into protein.

“Factory 01 is a globally unique production facility and hydrogen fermentation platform,” commented Petri Tervasmäki, Chief Technology Officer at Solar Foods. “It’s a historic first of its kind for cellular agriculture unlike anything that’s ever been built before, incorporating state-of-the-art technology into protein production. Successfully scaling our technology up a hundredfold compared to our pilot facility’s scale and ramping up production to reach full design capacity even earlier than planned are major milestones on the journey of Solein’s commercialization.”

At full capacity, Factory 01’s bioreactor produces as much Solein protein per day as a 300-cow dairy farm would generate in milk protein, but without relying on animals, farmland, or favorable climate conditions. The process, developed and patented by Solar Foods, enables food production virtually anywhere in the world.

The company now plans to increase Factory 01’s annual design capacity from 160 tons to 230 tons by 2026, a 44% boost. The expansion will incorporate productivity and energy-efficiency improvements already demonstrated at Solar Foods’ pilot facility, which achieved a productivity of 1.6 g/l/h and an energy efficiency value of 2.6.

Solar Foods said the improvements will help further lower production costs while optimizing resource use and energy performance.

Factory 01 represents the first phase of a broader scale-up strategy. Before the summer maintenance break, the facility had already reached production parameters that would make its next site, Factory 02, commercially viable. Factory 02 is now in pre-engineering, with its first phase planned to be operational in 2028. Once online, the facility will significantly expand Solar Foods’ capacity to supply Solein for food and ingredient applications globally.

As Tervasmäki noted, Factory 01’s successful ramp-up signals not just technical progress but a pivotal step toward proving that sustainable, large-scale hydrogen fermentation is feasible. “This facility shows that we can produce real protein from air and renewable energy at industrial scale,” he said.

With Factory 01 now fully operational and its next expansion phase underway, Solar Foods is moving closer to establishing Solein as a scalable, climate-independent protein source capable of transforming how food is produced worldwide.