The Protein Brewery has raised €22 million in a funding round led by Novo Holdings, as it aims to deliver sustainable, nutritious and affordable animal-free protein with its fermentation technology. With the capital, the start-up will be able to continue its research and development, and scale up the production of its Fermotein food ingredient with a new plant for commercialisation. The Series A round brings its total funding to date to €26 million, as Novo Holdings was joined by new investors Roquette Ventures and Unovis Asset Management. Based in the Netherlands, The Protein Brewery was founded in January 2020, resulting from a demerger of Bioscienz, a company that develops new technologies based on microbial fermentation. The company’s production technology combines its proprietary microorganisms with a brewing process, which reportedly results in a food ingredient with an ‘excellent’ nutritional profile and an amino acid composition similar to conventional meat. According to the start-up, its Fermotein ingredient will be available in both wet ‘cake’ product that can be used in applications such as meat alternatives, as well as a dry powder form that can be used in pasta, bakery products, protein bars and ice cream. The application process for the ingredient is already underway in the US and European market, anticipated to receive regulatory approval in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Fermotein can be produced from a variety of crops such as cassava, corn, potatoes, sugar beet and sugar cane. The start-up says this enables commercialisation around the globe with local production offering a sustainable protein option. “It is an important driver in our mission to contribute to a more sustainable world, developing novel ways of producing food proteins using fermentation technologies,” said Wim de Laat, founder of The Protein Brewery. He added: “The financial support and domain expertise of the investors in The Protein Brewery, are key milestones in executing our goals even more rapidly and broadly. It provides headway to take the next important step and move towards the realisation of a pilot plant, demonstrating the process, the properties and benefits of our innovative and nutritious food ingredient.” Thomas Grotkjær, principal at Novo Holdings, said: “The Fermotein product is nutritious, has a very sustainable profile, and is applicable to a wide range of products demanded by consumers. With this product, the company is entering a fast-growing alternative proteins market.”