Enifer funding news – Mycoprotein Company Enifer Secures €36 Million in Funding

The factory, which is set for completion by the end of 2025 and projected to cost €33M, will convert food industry side streams into Enifer’s sustainable PEKILO® fungi-based protein ingredients. The plant will be the world’s first commercial plant to produce such a mycoprotein ingredient from sidestream raw materials.

The factory will produce up to 3,000 tons of PEKILO® a year, which is enough to cover the annual protein needs of approximately 40,000 people. The production of PEKILO® mycoprotein has a low carbon footprint and requires minimal land and water, making it a very sustainable alternative to animal and plant proteins.

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The new funding package comprises a new €15M Series B equity funding round led by the Finnish private equity fund Taaleri Bioindustry Fund I, with follow-on investments from existing shareholders Nordic Foodtech VC, Voima Ventures, and Valio.

This funding is complemented by the Finnish Climate Fund, which has extended a €7M capital loan to support the project and a €2M Climate and Environmental Loan provided by Finnvera. This funding comes on top of the previously reported €12M recycling and reuse investment grant from Business Finland, making the factory fully funded.

Tero Saarno, Managing Director, Taaleri Bioindustry said, “We are very happy to start cooperation with Enifer. We believe that there is an increased need for alternative proteins as the global population grows. Demand is also supported globally by environmental and ethical considerations. Taaleri Bioindustry Fund I’s investment enables commercial scale production. We are confident in Enifer’s opportunities to expand,”.

The factory will be built as a brownfield project within an existing industrial building in Kantvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland. The site bordering the Baltic Sea is only a 30-minute drive from Helsinki city center and Enifer’s existing R&D facilities.

The site also offers the upcoming factory with all the required utilities, including steam, electricity, process and cooling water, and waste-water treatment. The factory will begin ramping up operations in 2026, and once it is at full capacity, it will produce 500 kilograms per hour of mycoprotein.

PEKILO® mycoprotein is produced by cultivating a specific species of fungus in a fermentation process that is not too distinct from brewing beer or making soy sauce. The produced PEKILO® mycoprotein powder contains a lot of high-quality protein and fiber.

It is also neutral in color and taste, making it an excellent source of nutrition in the most diverse food applications. Enifer and its partners have already demonstrated its use across meat and dairy alternatives, baking, pastries and snacks.

At its core, the factory will harbor a full-sized industrial fermenter, standing more than 12 meters tall and measuring more than 4.5 meters in diameter, in which the PEKILO® mycoprotein is grown. The factory will directly employ some 15 people during regular operations and more than twice this number during construction and commissioning.

Simo Ellilä, CEO and co-founder of Enifer said, “At Enifer, we’re extremely excited to announce the kick-off of our first factory investment project. For over half a century, Kantvik has been at the heart of Finnish bioindustries, and I could not think of a better location to bring PEKILO® fermentation back to life. I would like to thank our new investors, in particular Taaleri Bioindustry and the Finnish Climate Fund, for joining us in our mission. Mycoprotein is the missing ingredient for a more sustainable food chain – the facility in Kantvik serves as a key steppingstone on our path to making mycoprotein a cornerstone of protein supply, with several future factories already being planned,”

About Enifer

Enifer, a spin-off company from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, was founded by five scientists in 2020 to develop and commercialize the proprietary PEKILO® technology further. A process originally developed and used by the Finnish forest industry at a commercial scale, the PEKILO® technology enables the biotechnological conversion of dilute side streams into a high-protein ingredient, PEKILO® mycoprotein.