Making innovative protein factories fundable

An increasing number of young innovative companies and established Agrifood enterprises are aligning their interests to create a sustainable Agrifood sector in the Netherlands with the globally growing demand for high-quality plant-based proteins. An important prerequisite to eventually meet this rising demand is scaling up the production capacity for extracting high-quality proteins for human consumption.

Enhancing innovation capacity is essential for scaling up the protein transition

Fascinating is a multi-year open test and innovation programme that connects companies, the agricultural sector, knowledge institutions, and local communities around a new circular food chain. In collaboration with strategic partners throughout the chain, Invest-NL is working on making financing available for an innovative multi-purpose protein factory in Groningen. Such a first time capital-intensive multi-purpose protein factory enables various types of innovative companies to scale their own production capacity for new healthy proteins. The ultimate aim is to facilitate promising market introductions of new, natural protein products.

A sustainable food chain is crucial for transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy

Making the transition to a carbon-neutral economy is Invest-NL's top priority. The transition towards a sustainable and climate-neutral food system and value chain is central to our approach. A key focus within this is supporting and financing various sustainable alternative protein sources. It requires innovation, entrepreneurship, and active involvement from many different parties across the entire (Agrifood) chain. To accelerate this transition, Invest-NL has already financed and/or made several companies and projects financable.

Read more about what we do for the agrifood transition.

Where Invest-NL makes a difference in this case

To arrive at a realistic business case, considerations include various types of protein-rich crops, how available residual flows from industry can be used as input, and which innovative technology is suitable for the intended size of the protein factory. Once the business case is clear, Invest-NL identifies the funding bottlenecks and brings parties together to jointly develop the appropriate mix of financing instruments. Additionally, Invest-NL conducts a market survey of companies that can serve as the 'pipeline' for the factory's future processing capacity.

"By enabling the protein factory, we want to demonstrate that high-quality protein products can be produced, allowing the Agrifood sector to pursue biodiversity alongside a profitable product. Establishing collaboration between all parties in the chain necessary to develop a viable business case fits perfectly with Invest-NL," says Nina.