Finnish mycoprotein company Enifer has announced the completion of a funding package that will allow it to start constructing a food-grade mycoprotein factory in Kirkkonummi, Finland.
The factory, which is set for completion by the end of 2025 and projected to cost EUR €33M, 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.
A low carbon solution to protein production
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 new funding package comprises a new €15M Series B equity funding round led by the Finnish private equity fund Taaleri Bioindustry Fund I, with follow-on investments from existing shareholders Nordic Foodtech VC, Voima Ventures, Valio and Laine Holding.
This funding is complemented by the Finnish Climate Fund, which has extended a €7M capital loan to support the project and a €2M Climate and Environmental Loan provided by Finnvera. This funding comes on top of the previously reported €12M recycling and reuse investment grant from Business Finland, making the factory fully funded.
Addressing the climate challenge
"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.” Comments Finnish Climate Fund's acting CEO Toni Mikkonen.
The factory will be built as a brownfield project 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.