ARBIOM receives €12 million and launches “Protein Independence” industrial project
Paris, France, 18th February 2022 – ARBIOM, a French-American company specializing in the production of high-quality proteins for feed and food applications by processing agricultural and wood residues, has received a grant of €12 million from the France Relance investment program. This financing follows the success of ARBIOM’s SYLFEED demonstration program (a four-year program supported by BBI-JU1) that validated the scale-up of ARBIOM’s production process and the in-vivo performance of ARBIOM’s SylPro® product with customers and partners. Thanks to this financial support, ARBIOM plans to launch the construction of its first factory in France in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region in 2022. The commercial facility will produce 10 000 tonnes of SylPro per year and employ more than 40 people.
The grant recognizes that ARBIOM has developed a solution to the challenge of sourcing high quality proteins
ARBIOM aims to produce the next generation food by developing sustainable, high quality nutritional ingredients from underutilized resources. To do this, ARBIOM has developed a unique technology based on the use of agricultural and wood residues. ARBIOM’s process transforms lignocellulosic biomass into valuable single-cell proteins (SCP), an emerging class of alternative proteins which are highly appreciated while used in human and animal food applications. SylPro is a non-GMO yeast, a sustainable alternative protein that can replace conventional proteins that have a significant impact on the environment; in particular fishmeal, soybean meal and concentrate.
Dr. Ricardo Ekmay, ARBIOM SVP Nutrition and Product Development, highlights SylPro’s performance in animal trials: “SylPro has proven to be an exceptional protein source for a variety of applications. Not only does SylPro have a high protein content and balanced amino acid profile, but it consistently shows class-leading digestibility, positive impacts on gastrointestinal health, and increased palatability…even for known picky eaters.”
Commercials trials with a number of petfood, aquaculture, and piglet feed manufacturers, a necessary step for commercial agreements, have successfully confirmed earlier results.
A major industrial project to offer the best quality proteins, highly sustainable, for feed and food applications
Thanks to the €12 million grant received from the France Relance investment program, ARBIOM will be able to accelerate the commercialization phase of its innovative product SylPro. Construction of the company’s first production plant will begin in 2022 in France, in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region. The plant is expected to be operational by 2024 and will produce 10 000 tonnes of SylPro per year, creating more than 40 direct jobs in a strategic sector for the French economy.
“This grant is excellent news not only for ARBIOM but for the global food chain as a whole. At a time when Europe imports 80% of proteins for animal feed, it is crucial that we develop new sustainable and local sources of highly nutritious proteins.” explains ARBIOM CEO Marc Chevrel.
1 BBI JU – Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking
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