The Protein Brewery, which makes a mycelium-based protein ingredient in Breda, has raised a total of €70m and plans to install a third fermenter at its plant in early 2027. The company recently received approval to sell in the European market.
Credit: this report is based on a story first published by IO+. Read the original at ioplus.nl.
According to IO+, which visited the factory, The Protein Brewery grows a selected fungus in fermenters in Breda and processes the mycelium into a powder for sports nutrition. The ingredient is sold under the name Fermotein® and contains 50% protein and 30% fibre, so it can go into products such as protein shakes and bars.
The company has raised €70m in total, IO+ reports. The Brabant Development Agency (BOM) is among its backers: the regional development agency has invested in The Protein Brewery and in Revyve as part of its investment in companies speeding up the protein transition.
Capacity plan
Two production units are running in Breda today. The longer-term goal is six fermenters, and the third is scheduled to be installed in Breda in early 2027. An 85,000-litre fermentation tank fills with mycelium in about eight to twelve hours, according to the report.
The company is also looking for a site for a larger factory. CEO Thijs Bosch told IO+ that a bigger plant "should make it possible to produce larger volumes more efficiently and profitably". The existing Breda location will stay in use for both production and further development of the process, so engineers can develop and test new methods there.
Market access
Fermotein® was already authorised for sale in the United States and Singapore before the recent European approval. The company now aims to win the European market, IO+ writes.
The underlying strain was selected in 2017 from more than 100,000 types, three years before Wim de Laat founded The Protein Brewery. Bosch said it was chosen for its neutral taste, solubility and relative ease of production and processing.
Production hurdles
Bosch was open about the process limits. In the tank, the mixture is 98% water and 2% mycelium, so almost all the water has to be removed, and that drying step is less simple and efficient than the company would like. Buying another fermenter does not solve that on its own, since software, piping and the rest of the system must work together.
On the input side, production uses little farmland, runs on a byproduct of sugar production and uses little water, which can be reused, according to the article.
The regional angle
Thijs Taminiau, senior project manager for international business at BOM, told IO+ that Brabant's strength lies in making smarter use of local crops such as potatoes and sugar beets and turning them into higher-value ingredients and proteins. The province aims to play a pioneering role in new protein sources, the report says.
Original source: IO+, "Brabant-grown yeast will form the basis of our protein shakes" Suggested image: The Protein Brewery production plant or Fermotein® product shot from the company's own newsroom (theproteinbrewery.nl/news)
