The world is facing the challenge of doubling the protein supply by 2050 to answer the demand from the global population. Also, there is a focus on decreasing CO2 emissions from the food value chain. The production of traditional animal- and plant-based proteins cannot be doubled to meet this demand and there is an urgent need for novel and innovative sources of protein.
Finnish biotech startup Enifer, a spin-off company from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, tackles this demand. The company has announced the completion of a funding package of €36 million.
The new funding package comprises a new €15 million Series B equity round led by the Finnish private equity fund Taaleri Bioindustry Fund I, with follow-on investments from existing shareholders Nordic Foodtech VC, Voima Ventures (backed Kuva Space and MVision AI), and Valio. This funding is complemented by the Finnish Climate Fund, which has extended a €7 million junior loan to support the project and a €2 million Climate and Environmental Loan provided by Finnvera. This funding comes on top of the previously reported €12 million recycling and reuse investment grant from Business Finland, making the factory fully funded.
This follows the €12 million investment grant from the European Union NextGenerationEU recovery instrument.
Builds new mycoprotein factory
With this funding package, Enifer will start constructing a unique food-grade mycoprotein factory in Kirkkonummi, Finland. The factory, which is set for completion by the end of 2025 and is projected to cost €33 million, will convert food industry side streams into Enifer’s sustainable PEKILO fungi-based protein ingredients. The plant will be the world’s first commercial plant to produce such a mycoprotein ingredient from sidestream raw materials.
The factory will produce up to 3,000 tonnes of PEKILO a year, which is enough to cover the annual protein needs of approximately 40,000 people. The production of PEKILO mycoprotein has a low carbon footprint and requires minimal land and water, making it a very sustainable alternative to animal and plant proteins.
The factory will be built within an existing industrial building in Kantvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland. The site bordering the Baltic Sea is only a 30-minute drive from Helsinki city centre and Enifer’s existing R&D facilities. The site also offers the upcoming factory with all the required utilities, including steam, electricity, process and cooling water, and waste-water treatment. The factory will begin ramping up operations in 2026, and once it is at full capacity, it will produce 500 kilograms per hour of mycoprotein.
At its core, the factory will harbour a full-sized industrial fermenter, standing more than 12 metres tall and measuring more than 4.5 metres in diameter, in which the PEKILO mycoprotein is grown. The factory will directly employ some 15 people during regular operations and more than twice this number during construction and commissioning.
PEKILO, a mycoprotein ingredient
Enifer was founded by five scientists – Anssi Rantasalo, Heikki Keskitalo, Joosu Kuivanen, Simo Ellilä, and Ville Pihlajaniemi in 2020. PEKILO mycoprotein is produced by cultivating a specific species of fungus in a fermentation process that is not too distinct from brewing beer or making soy sauce. The produced PEKILO mycoprotein powder contains a lot of high-quality protein and fibre. It is also neutral in colour and taste, making it an excellent source of nutrition in the most diverse food applications.
Enifer and its partners have already demonstrated its use across meat and dairy alternatives, baking, pastries and snacks.
The fermentation process was originally developed in Finland in the 1970s and used to upcycle forest industry side streams into feed-grade mycoprotein. Enifer has transformed this innovation, adapting it to new raw material streams from food and agricultural industries and developing a food-grade version of the mycoprotein ingredient.
“We are very happy to start cooperation with Enifer. We believe that there is an increased need for alternative proteins as the global population grows. Demand is also supported globally by environmental and ethical considerations. Taaleri Bioindustry Fund I’s investment enables commercial scale production. We are confident in Enifer’s opportunities to expand,” said Tero Saarno, Managing Director, Taaleri Bioindustry.
“The world’s population and the need for protein are growing. Food production is – even at the level of technologies that can already be scaled – an unsolved key part of the climate challenge. In the future, sustainable food production will be based on several different solutions and the demand for new types of proteins is predicted to grow significantly over the next decade. Enifer’s already tested technology is interesting as the nutrients of various side streams can be upcycled and their processing value increased instead of energy use,” added the Finnish Climate Fund’s acting CEO Toni Mikkonen.
“At Enifer, we’re extremely excited to announce the kick-off of our first factory investment project. For over half a century, Kantvik has been at the heart of Finnish bioindustries, and I could not think of a better location to bring PEKILO® fermentation back to life. I would like to thank our new investors, in particular Taaleri Bioindustry and the Finnish Climate Fund, for joining us in our mission. 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,” said Simo Ellilä, CEO and co-founder of Enifer.
