Liberation Labs has broken ground on its first commercial-scale, purpose-built precision fermentation biomanufacturing facility in Richmond, Indiana.

The facility is planned to have a capacity of 600,000 litres with a fully dedicated downstream process (DSP) to produce bio-based proteins at scale. It is expected to produce in the range of 500 – 1,200 metric tons of protein per year, co-founder and CEO Mark Warner told The Plant Base.

By establishing a purpose-built facility, the company aims to overcome challenges of cost and quality that currently impact the industry. Rather than using re-purposed overseas facilities, customers in the sector can make end products more cost-competitive by utilising the new US plant, Liberation Labs stated.

Commercial production at the facility is expected by the end of 2024. Liberation Labs reported that its cumulative annual impact on the state of Indiana is estimated at around 178 jobs, nearly $13 million in labour income, $21 million in gross state product (GSP) and $67 million in output.

In a statement, Warner said: “Despite strong consumer interest in bio-based ingredients, the industry has yet to fully deliver on their promise. We believe our purpose-built biomanufacturing facility will fill the gap and help usher in a new era of advanced bioproducts that will make our lives better, including foods, materials and yet-to-be-discovered breakthroughs.”

Plant-based foods that could be manufactured at the plant include animal-free egg proteins and other alternative proteins created through precision fermentation.

The company’s mission is to commercialise the technology with a global network of purpose-built facilities that can enable “the next wave of biotechnology advancements.”

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