November 12, 2024 - MicroHarvest has achieved a key milestone by demonstrating an ability to scale its production process to 10 tonnes per day in a single vessel, representing a 10-fold increase over its current capacity. This significant progress validates MicroHarvest's ability to deliver microbial protein in quantities that will meet commercial demands, with plans for a full-scale facility capable of producing unto 15,000 tonnes annually by the end of 2026.
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| MicroHarvest Protein Ingredient |
The trial results confirmed that strain performance and critical process parameters remain consistent with smaller-scale production, ensuring robust scalability as MicroHarvest advances toward industrial-scale operations. Additionally, the trial demonstrated the speed and resilience of MicroHarvest's seed train - achieving the full process, from cryovial to full scale production, over 10 times faster than the traditional seed trains in the food industry.
Consistent and impressive scalability milestones achieved by MicroHarvest in the biotech industry make it an undisputed leader in the novel ingredients space and have emboldened and accelerated the company's progress towards a first close of its Series B funding efforts.
Katelijne Bekers, CEO of MicroHarvest, said: "Producers of feed and food face high pressure to adopt novel ingredients within 3-5 years, but scaling these ingredients has been a bottleneck for the B2B ingredients market. First trials require hundreds of kilos or even tonnes of product to test with, followed by consistent, large-scale production in the magnitude of thousands of tonnes. While many biotechnology startups struggle to scale their production beyond small pilot volumes in the range of a few kilos, we've always successfully run pilots with 50-100kg of product. In addition, we have also found a solution to address the urgent industry need to diversify protein sources at scale now. Our demonstrated process stability at scale puts us in a unique position to actually match market demand in 2026."
The company ran its first pilot trial less than six months after starting in the lab. Now, barely three years later, they are already demonstrating robust production at commercial scale. The success of this new large-scale trial has solidified MicroHarvest's confidence in the engineering parameters essential for its next production plant, putting the company on track to meet its long-term commercial production goals.
"We see that new demo factories more than often have troubles in their start-up phase, as the process is sensitive to contaminations or to technical perturbations not expected at lab scale. This leads to delays that can take more than a year. In the worst case, they make profitability unachievable as production losses make a considerable dent in good unit economics." says Jonathan Roberz, COO of MicroHarvest. "Our R&D and Pilot teams focused from the start on minimising these problems. Our technology minimises the risk of contamination and focuses on quickly recovering production upon technical problems. Having overcome any remaining technological barriers, MicroHarvest is committed to reaching its kiloton output target."
The microbial fermentation process produces protein with a fraction of the carbon footprint of traditional plant- and animal-based proteins. Using agricultural side-streams as feedstock, MicroHarvest minimises the need for additional fossil fuels or land, significantly reducing environmental impact. Earlier this year, the startup collaborated with animal-free petfood producer VEGDOG to launch 'Pure Bites' a first-of-its-kind microbial protein dog treat. In addition, validation and application trials in salmon and shrimp are running or planned with several global aquafeed producers involved, covering million metric tonnes of feed. Looking ahead, the company plans to expand applications in human nutrition, positioning MicroHarvest as a well-rounded player at the forefront of sustainable protein innovation.
With growing demand across nutrition sectors, MicroHarvest is well-positioned to lead the way in sustainable, scalable protein production, contributing to a more resilient and eco-friendly food system.
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This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
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