Producing Solein, a protein ingredient grown by fermenting a microbe with carbon dioxide and hydrogen from renewable electricity, and selling it to food and nutrition brands.
The bet
That protein can be made from carbon dioxide, hydrogen and renewable electricity by fermenting a microbe, decoupling food from agriculture, weather and land.
Solar Foods was founded in 2017 as a spinoff from Finland's VTT research center and LUT University to grow protein without agriculture. Solein's first regulatory approval came from Singapore's Food Agency in September 2022 — the first country to clear the ingredient — before any production facility existed.
Factory 01 in Vantaa started operations in April 2024, a 100-fold scale-up of the pilot process, and ran continuously for eight months before a summer 2025 maintenance break. Solar Foods listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland in 2024, secured self-affirmed GRAS status in the US in September 2024, began US commercialization, then filed an FDA GRAS notification in September 2025.
In October 2025 Factory 01 reached full design capacity of 160 tons of Solein a year — the daily protein output equivalent of a 300-cow dairy farm — with expansion to 230 tons planned for 2026. In June 2026 Solar Foods won €77.8M ($89.2M) in Business Finland grants and loans for Factory 02, conditional on a final investment decision expected during 2026; phase one (3,200 tons/year) is planned to open in 2028.
Singapore's 2022 novel-food approval created a regulatory beachhead before a factory existed.
Factory 01 was designed as an economics proof — hitting pilot-derived productivity at 100x scale — not just a technology demonstration.
Producing without agriculture removes weather, land and feed-price volatility from the cost base.
Listing on Nasdaq First North in 2024 widened access to capital without a full IPO.
A radical technology scales by making the first unit an economics test: Factory 01 verified pilot productivity at 100x scale, which is what made the larger Factory 02 investment decision possible.
As of September 2026, Factory 01 runs at its 160-ton design capacity, with expansion to 230 tons planned in 2026. Solar Foods is preparing the Factory 02 final investment decision (phase one: 3,200 tons/year, planned 2028), backed by €77.8M in conditional Business Finland funding. Solein products are on sale in the US (Planta) and Singapore, with MOUs covering up to 6,000 tons a year. Pending decisions: EU novel-food approval expected in 2026, FDA no-questions letter by end of 2026. Revenue remains small and Factory 02 economics are unproven, but the scaling question has been answered.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The sources
- Solar Foods confirms successful 100-fold industrial scaling of Solein's production technology Solar Foods · solarfoods.com ·
- Solar Foods' Factory 01 has reached its productivity targets Solar Foods Oyj (via Inderes) · inderes.se ·
- Solar Foods has submitted a GRAS notification on Solein in the United States to obtain a no questions letter from the FDA Solar Foods Oyj · investors.solarfoods.com ·
- Solar Foods wins $89.2m backing for 'protein from air' factory, but final investment decision still pending AgFunderNews · agfundernews.com ·