GEA has relocated its Application and Technology Center (ATC) for New Food and Biotechnology to Sarstedt, Germany, aiming to help food and biotechnology companies scale precision fermentation and cell cultivation processes.

The engineering and technology group has relocated the centre from Hildesheim, where it has been operating since 2023, to its established engineering site in Sarstedt, Lower Saxony. The move is intended to bring pilot-scale biotechnology capabilities closer to GEA's existing expertise in beverage processing, liquid dairy and process engineering.

Backed by a €4 million investment, the transition includes the conversion and fitting out of an existing facility, with around 240 employees now based at the Sarstedt site following the relocation.

The ATC enables companies developing alternative proteins and other biotechnology-derived ingredients to validate production processes before committing to commercial-scale manufacturing. Pilot facilities include bioreactors ranging from 50 to 500 litres, integrated with media preparation, separation, filtration, hygienic process design and automation systems.

GEA said the centre is designed to bridge one of the biggest challenges facing the biotechnology sector: translating promising laboratory results into commercially viable industrial processes.

Klaus Stojentin, CEO of GEA's nutrition plant engineering division, said: "New Food and biotechnology need places where you can find out whether a promising process can actually become a viable industrial application. In Sarstedt, we bring pilot infrastructure and engineering expertise under one roof. That gives our customers a stronger basis for their next decision."

While precision fermentation and cell cultivation have gained attention for their role in producing alternative proteins, GEA noted that the technologies also have applications across a broader range of food ingredients. Biotechnological production methods can be used to manufacture enzymes, amino acids, vitamins, flavours and other functional ingredients for the food, feed and healthcare industries.

The company said the centre will allow customers to evaluate process stability, product quality and production economics at pilot scale before progressing to contract manufacturing or investing in full-scale production facilities.

Frederieke Reiners, vice president new food & biotech at GEA, said: "A good lab result creates interest. A solid process creates confidence. Sometimes the most valuable outcome of a test run is a clear no – because a process isn't stable enough yet, or the cost structure simply doesn't hold up. Learning that early can save a company a lot of time and capital."

The opening comes as the commercialisation of precision fermentation and cultivated food technologies continues to progress more slowly than many early market forecasts predicted. Challenges around financing, regulatory approvals, production costs and manufacturing scale remain significant barriers for many companies seeking to bring new products to market.

GEA said its focus is on providing the engineering infrastructure needed to support industrial biotechnology, rather than replacing conventional food production. Instead, the company sees fermentation-based manufacturing as a complementary production pathway for specific ingredients, particularly where supply chain resilience, climate pressures or raw material constraints are driving demand for alternative production methods.

The company also pointed to growing political support for industrial biotechnology in Germany, where the federal government has identified precision fermentation as a strategic technology. GEA said continued investment in pilot infrastructure, alongside predictable regulation and collaboration across the value chain, will be critical to accelerating commercial deployment.

Industry partners attending the opening included the Biotechnology Fermentation Factory (BFF) in the Netherlands, which is developing open-access food-grade pilot facilities, and Finnish food technology company Solar Foods, which is producing its fermentation-derived protein Solein at industrial demonstration scale.

By integrating biotechnology pilot operations with its established engineering teams in Sarstedt, GEA aims to provide customers with support throughout the product development journey, from early process validation through to the design and implementation of commercial production plants.