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User:Artoria2e5/Solar Foods

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History

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2017–2019

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Solar Foods is a spin-off created from a joint research project on renewable energy between VTT and Lappeenrannan-Lahden teknillisen yliopiston (LUT)[1], with the idea of creating food from air using electricticy dating back to the 1960s.[2] The research team received international publicity when the team announced in 2017 that it has succeeded in making food from the air.[3] The company was founded by PhDs in engineering Pasi Vainikka and Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, alone with Sami Holmströmin, Jero Aholan, Jari Tuovisen, and Janne Mäkelän kanssa.[3] The company aimed to start the first phase of production in 2021[1] with a plant that can produce 100 tons of protein per year.[4]

By the spring of 2018, Solar Foods had collected a seed funding of 800,000 euros for the construction of a pilot production plant.The main investor was Lifeline Ventures; other investors included VTT Ventures and Green Campus Innovations, an investment company operating on LUT's campus. The company also received a product development loan of over one million euros from Business Finland. Solar Foods started building a bioreactor tank where a kilogram of microbes can be produced daily. The company's previous bioreactor had been about the size of a coffee cup.[3] Solar Foods intended to apply for novel food approval from the EU's Food Safety Agency, EFSA, so that the protein it produces could be used as human food.[3] In the fall, Solar Foods joined the European Space Agency business incubator, intending to develop a system with which food can be prepared on Mars.[2][1] A 40-liter bioreactor would produce the proteins needed by a crew of six.[5] The company had three employees.[3]

In March 2019, Solar Foods received funding of 50,000 euros from the Bank of Åland's Baltic Sea Project.[6] In the same spring, Solar Foods launched its pilot plant, the output of which will be used to develop new products with partners.[7] In the summer, the company said it was planning a protein factory larger than the first factory, producing around 6,000 tons per year.[4] In September, the Fazer Group and Solar Foods announced their partnership. It was part of Solar Foods' financing round, which raised EUR 3.5 million in equity-term convertible bonds from Oy Karl Fazer Ab, Holdix Oy Ab, Turret Oy Ab and Lifeline Ventures.[2] In October, the Atomico angel program joined the group of financiers.[8]

2020–

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By April 2020, the company had received a total of 4.3 million euros in funding. In the summer, the company's pilot plant produced 300 grams of protein per day. It said that it aims to open a facility 100 times larger than the current one in a couple of years. The next scaling up would be factory-scale, a facility about the size of a football field.[9]

In April 2021, the Valtion Ilmastorahasto gave Solar Foods a loan of ten million euros for the new factory.[10] By October, the company had collected EUR 43 million in funding. It said it would start building the Factory 01 factory in Vantaa, where it was to produce around one hundred tons of Solein protein every year from the beginning of 2023.[10]

In spring 2022, Solar Foods made it to the 11 finalists in the second phase of NASA's years-long food competition.[11] The company was awarded in the first stage of the competition.[12] The company also cooperates with European Space Agency[11] In October, Solar Foods received the first novel food permit for its product, in Singapore. It also had license processes going on in the EU, the UK and the United States. The company built its first commercial production plant in Vehkala, Vantaa.[13] An electrolyzer and an 8 metres (26 ft)-diameter bioreactor for growing protein will be installed in the hall.[14] The EU Commission granted IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) status to Solar Foods.[15]

In January 2023, it was reported that Solar Foods had received EUR 33.6 million in IPCEI funding from Business Finland for its hydrogen project.[15] In the summer, the company started selling consumer products in Singapore.[16] Singapore is very dependent on the food production of other countries, as agriculture is small in the country and 90% of food is imported from abroad.[17][16] Cooperation with the Japanese Ajinomoto group was started.[18] In September, it was reported that the company is developing an artificial milk protein, beta-lactoglobulin, with three other organizations. In the Hydrocow project of the European Innovation Council, protein is produced with the help of hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria, carbon dioxide and electricity.[19]

  1. ^ a b c Miina Rautiainen. "Ilmasta proteiinia tuottava suomalainen Solar Foods pääsi osaksi Euroopan avaruusjärjestön yrityshautomoa – tavoitteena kehittää järjestelmä ruoan valmistukseen Marsissa" [The Finnish company Solar Foods, which produces protein from the air, became part of the European Space Agency's business incubator - with the aim of developing a system for food production on Mars]. Tekniikkatalous (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  2. ^ a b c Matti Keränen. "Makeisista erittäin tunnettu suomalaisyhtiö liittoutuu sähköproteiinia kehittävän startupin kanssa – alkaa tehdä ilmasta ruokaa" [a Finnish company very well known for akeis teams up with a startup developing electric protein - starts making food out of thin air]. Tekniikkatalous (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  3. ^ a b c d e Elina Lappalainen. "Kohta sinäkin voit nauttia ilmasta valmistettua proteiinia - Solar Foods -startup hakee elintarvikelupaa" [Soon you too can enjoy protein made from air - the Solar Foods startup is applying for a food permit]. Talouselämä (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  4. ^ a b "Suomessa onnistuttiin valmistamaan proteiinia ilmasta – mullistava keksintö voi olla yksi ratkaisu maailman ruokapulaan" [In Finland, they managed to make protein out of thin air - a revolutionary invention may be one solution to the world's food shortage]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  5. ^ I.-Mediat Oy. "Espoolaisessa bioreaktorissa pöhisee munanmakuista avaruuskiljua – suomalainen proteiini-innovaatio nappasi maailman suurimman design-palkinnon" [In the bioreactor in Espoo, there is an egg-flavored space scream - the Finnish protein innovation won the world's biggest design award]. Ilkka-Pohjalainen (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  6. ^ Sofia Virtanen (2019-03-11). "Ilmasta proteiinia valmistava Solar Foods sai 50 000 euron rahoituksen ja aloittaa tehtaan suunnittelutyön" [Solar Foods, which produces protein from air, received 50,000 euros in funding and will begin the design work of the factory]. Talouselama.fi (in Finnish). Alma Talent.
  7. ^ Elina Lappalainen (2019-04-20). "Talouselämä valitsi Suomen 10 lupaavinta startup-yritystä" [Talouselämä selected the 10 most promising startup companies in Finland]. Talouselama.fi (in Finnish). Alma Talent.
  8. ^ "Finnish angel investor has a taste for Solar Foods". Solar Foods Ltd. 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  9. ^ "Uusi tapa tuottaa ruokaa on kuin tieteiselokuvasta! Ravintoa ilmasta tuottava espoolaisyritys tarjoaa ratkaisua maailman ruokapulaan" [The new way of producing food is like something from a science fiction movie! An Espoo company that produces food from the air offers a solution to the world's food shortage]. mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  10. ^ a b "Elintarviketeollisuus | Suomalainen Solar Foods rakentaa tehtaan, joka tuottaa proteiinia ilmasta ja sähköstä" [Food industry | Finnish Solar Foods is building a factory that produces protein from air and electricity]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  11. ^ a b "Tämä keksintö voi päätyä astronauttien ruuaksi – suomalaisyhtiö kehitti ruoan, jota seuraavaksi testaa Nasa" [This invention may end up as food for astronauts - a Finnish company developed a food that will be tested by NASA next]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  12. ^ "Yritykset | Suomalainen Solar Foods voitti Nasan avaruusruokapalkinnon". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  13. ^ Joanna Palmén. "Ilmasta tehty ruoka otti ison harppauksen eteenpäin: "Vertaisin siihen hetkeen, kun ihmiskunta löysi perunan"" [Food made from air took a big leap forward: "I would compare it to the moment when mankind discovered the potato"]. Talouselämä (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  14. ^ "Suomessa on tapahtumassa kaikessa hiljaisuudessa vetyvallankumous – katso kartalta, yltääkö vihreä siirtymä kotikuntaasi" [A hydrogen revolution is quietly taking place in Finland - check the map to see if the green transition reaches your home county]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  15. ^ a b Elina Saarinen (2023-01-11). "Yli 60 miljoonaa vihreän vedyn hankkeille" [More than 60 million for green hydrogen projects]. Uusiouutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  16. ^ a b "What The Food : de la glace vegan à base d'air pour rafraîchir Singapour" [What The Food: Vegan ice cream made from air to cool down Singapore]. ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  17. ^ "A Singapour, un restaurant sert de la soléine, présentée comme la protéine la plus écolo du monde" [Singapore Restaurant Serves Solein, Touted as World's Greenest Protein]. Franceinfo (in French). 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  18. ^ Natasha Lomas (2023-06-16). "Make way for a new vegan protein on the menu". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  19. ^ "Suomalainen yritys aikoo kehittää mikrobin, jolla saadaan maitoa ilman lehmää" [A Finnish company plans to develop a microbe that can produce milk without a cow]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2023-09-05. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
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