ENOUGH developed a fermentation technique to make mycoproteins: ‘fungi food’, or proteins from fungi. They are ideal for the production of meat substitutes. The fungi are fed sugars, including grain from ENOUGH’s ‘neighbour’ in Sas van Gent, Cargill. The residues from the process are then processed in Cargill’s bioethanol plant. This enables the protein factory to produce fully circular, without waste.
The new 15,000m2 plant will cost € 42 million and will be operational in 2022, initially with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes of vegetable protein per year. This will create 25 new jobs. This number will double when the plant reaches its full capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year in 2027; enough to replace the animal protein of 5 million cows or 1.2 billion chickens. That means a CO2 saving of 1 billion kilos per year, comparable to planting 30 million trees.
Circular Biobased Delta (CBBD) was closely involved in the preparations for the construction, as part of its Sugar Delta programme. Together with Impuls Zeeland and The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), CBBD helped find investors and establish contacts with banks. The Bio-based Industries Consortium (BBI JU) is supporting the new facility as one of its 11 flagship projects with €6.9 million in funding, as part of the Plenitude project, which involves partners from the entire value chain. NFIA and Invest in Zeeland accompanied the arrival of the Scottish start-up to Sas van Gent.
Image: ENOUGH/Abunda
