Alfa Laval breaks ground on food innovation center focused on next-generation protein processing

Alfa Laval has begun construction on a new Food Application & Innovation Center in Copenhagen, designed to accelerate research and development across both conventional food processing and next-generation production technologies.

• Alfa Laval has started construction of a 1,200 m² Food Application & Innovation Center at its Food & Pharma headquarters in Søborg, Copenhagen.

• The facility will support testing and development of technologies for both conventional food processing and next-generation production methods including fermentation.

• The center is expected to open in spring 2027 and will focus initially on protein processing and sustainable food production solutions.

A groundbreaking ceremony held on 4 March marked the start of construction at Alfa Laval’s Food & Pharma headquarters in Søborg, part of the Danish capital’s wider life sciences and innovation ecosystem.

The facility is expected to be completed in spring 2027 and will house the company’s full portfolio of food-processing technologies, enabling customers and partners to test, validate and optimize production processes.

Alfa Laval said the center will support the development of solutions spanning both traditional food manufacturing and emerging production approaches, including fermentation-based systems and other biosolutions.

The project reflects growing pressure on global food systems. The United Nations has estimated that global food production will need to increase by roughly 70% by 2050 to meet the needs of a growing population.

Johan Agrell, Strategic Business Development Manager in Alfa Laval’s Food & Pharma division, said the new center will function as a collaborative innovation hub connecting technology providers, food companies, researchers and startups.

“Innovation is what we do at Alfa Laval, and the Food Application & Innovation Center will be a world-leading facility in the heart of Copenhagen,” Agrell said. “It is a major investment that will see us building stronger bridges with customers and partners, from start-ups to global producers.”

He added that the facility will play a role in advancing resilient food production systems across the value chain.

“Alfa Laval is proud to be walking the talk and establishing ourselves as part of the ecosystem that is looking to find resilient food solutions for meeting the global supply challenge, whether that is through traditional protein extraction or new fermentation processes.”

The project has now moved from planning into construction, with Danish engineering and construction company IBG appointed to build the approximately 1,200m² facility.

According to Alfa Laval, the center will provide an environment where companies and researchers can work directly with the company’s processing technologies to test new food production concepts, refine existing manufacturing processes and explore emerging technologies.

Agrell said the facility will support a wide range of users, from early-stage innovators to large multinational manufacturers.

“It will be a place where large corporates can develop and fine-tune processes with us, start-ups can establish proof of concept and scale up, and academic researchers from around the world can meet to develop and test new ideas.”

The Food Application & Innovation Center will build on the work of Alfa Laval’s Innovation House, established in Copenhagen seven years ago to support collaboration with startups and accelerate new technology development through partnerships and knowledge exchange.

The initial research focus at the new facility will center on protein processing, which Alfa Laval described as one of the most pressing challenges facing the global food system.

Ensuring a stable supply of nutritious protein while minimizing environmental impacts is a key priority for food producers, governments and technology developers.

Through the new center, Alfa Laval aims to support improvements in conventional production methods while also investigating new approaches that could deliver higher yields with lower resource consumption.

The company said its work will examine how food production systems can use less energy and water, while also improving recovery and utilization of valuable resources from waste streams.

Agrell said the center will enable a more holistic approach to food innovation.

“This is the goal,” he said. “Alfa Laval has been around for more than 140 years, and with our range of technologies, solutions and competences, we aim to be at the forefront of the drive to build a more resilient food system.”