Agronomics Limited has announced that its portfolio company, Solar Foods Oy, has secured an additional EUR8 million in funding through Finnish investment organiser Springvest Oyj. This funding is an extension of Solar Food's Series B round, bringing the total raise to EUR16 million. Solar Foods' first commercial-scale factory, Factory 01, has been operational since April and is expected to produce 160 tons of Solein™ annually. The company has obtained regulatory approval for Solein™ in Singapore and is collaborating with Finnish food company Oy Karl Fazer AB to incorporate Solein into a chocolate snack. Additionally, Solar Foods has submitted a dossier to the European Food Safety Authority and is in discussions with potential customers for integrating Solein™ into existing product lines.
Agronomics has invested EUR6 million in Solar Foods, and as per the Unaudited Interim Results, this position is currently carried at a book value of £11.4 million, including an uplift of £6.3 million. The subsequent raise remained on the same terms as the previous one, with no change to the value of Agronomics' position. Jim Mellon, Agronomics' Executive Chair, expressed confidence in Solar Foods' progress, highlighting the company's operational factory and regulatory approval, positioning it as one of the most advanced cell ag companies globally.
Solar Foods, founded in 2017 in Espoo, Finland, produces protein using carbon dioxide and electricity. Solein™, its flagship product, is a microbial protein-rich powder containing all essential amino acids, produced through a bioprocess that liberates global protein production from the constraints of traditional agriculture. This method has the potential to revolutionize the sustainability, availability, and transparency of food production, as it is not reliant on agriculture, weather, or climate.
Agronomics is a leading listed alternative proteins company with a focus on cellular agriculture, including precision fermentation and cultivated meat. The company has a portfolio of over 20 companies in this sector, seeking minority stakes in companies owning technologies with defensible intellectual property that offer new ways of producing food and materials historically derived from animals. These technologies aim to improve sustainability, address human health, animal welfare, and environmental damage, and decouple supply chains from the environment and animals.