Solar Foods Signs €10M Investment Agreement for “Most Sustainable Protein in the World” Production

Solar Foods – the food tech creating protein “from thin air” – has received a €10 million investment boost from the Pharmacy Pension Fund of Finland. The agreement will see investment in the Solar Foods’ Factory 01 facility which will house the first commercial Solein production line.

Solein is Solar Foods’ innovative single-cell protein, made out of microbes cultured with electricity and air-captured carbon dioxide. The company claims its fully natural fermentation process is similar to the production of yeast, resulting in the purest and most sustainable protein in the world. Solein production will be scaled up at the Factory 01 facility, with the company estimating that commercialization will begin during the first half of 2023.

The €10 million investment agreement comes from the Pharmacy Pension Fund of Finland (Apteekkien eläkekassa), taking the total investment in Factory 01 to over €35m. The facility will not only house the first commercial Solein production line, but also Solar Foods’ new headquarters and a future food Experience Hub, offering the food industry and the public a view into a future where food production is sustainable and independent of agriculture.

“The investment in the property effectively releases a corresponding amount of equity for us to develop our core technology, so it’s a direct injection in our runway. I’m proud that we are able to demonstrate a unique set-up supporting the progress of a deep-tech start-up while creating a sustainable investment case. The Pharmacy Pension Fund has the longest heritage of all pension funds in Finland, which makes us all the more excited to be working together towards 2030 and our long-term plans for the future of food,” commented Pasi Vainikka, CEO and co-founder of Solar Foods.

Source: https://vegconomist.com/investments-acquisitions/solar-foods-signs-e10m-investment-agreement-for-most-sustainable-protein-in-the-world-production/

‍