Sweco has won a €4.2m contract to design and manage construction of a protein factory in Finland for biotech start-up Enifer.
The plant will make “mycoprotein”, a fungus-based protein used as a substitute for meat.
It’s derived from the mycelium, or root network, of fungi grown in fermentation tanks.
The mycelium takes root in liquified by-products from food, farming and forest industries.
Enifer said it had secured €33m to build the plant, its first, in an existing industrial building in the village of Kantvik in Finland’s Uusimaa region.
It expects the plant to produce 3 million kilos of mycoprotein a year, enough for the annual protein requirements of 40,000 people.
Production is scheduled to start in 2026.
Sweco said the plant will be the world’s first to use by-products from food production on a commercial scale.
Sweco will deliver services for project management, plant design, building permits, procurement and construction management.
“Our process concept for manufacturing mycoprotein is new and we have a lot to do in a limited amount of time,” said Enifer chief executive Simo Ellilä.
“Finding a reliable EPCM partner was vital to the success of our project.”
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