Arkeon sets up pilot production facility and plans demo facility for scaleup

Biotech startup, Arkeon, has successfully raised over €10 million in capital to date to build out its proprietary technology for the direct conversion of carbon dioxide into protein ingredients. The recently commissioned pilot production plant in Vienna's Seestadt Innovation Hub represents a significant step forward for the further development of the company’s production process and the expansion of its infrastructure. Equipped with a 150-liter bioreactor system, it serves to progressively improve the process and lays a solid biotechnological foundation for future large-scale production.

The plant was built in cooperation with Steamtec, Böhm Stadtbaumeister & Gebäudetechnik, Kanzler-Dach, Bioengineering, RW Serviceteam, and others.

The achieved capacity of 150 liters forms the foundation for the next step of the scaling plan, a demo facility with a 3000L bioreactor system. “The successful implementation of our pilot production plant represents a solid basis and illustrates that our company has set up the technical foundation to unlock our production technology at large scale. It is an essential step on our way to scale to large commercial production outputs”, said Dr Günther Bochmann, Technological Project Lead of Arkeon.

Last week, the Vienna Business Agency initiated the construction of the Technology Centre Seestadt. The project aims to provide additional production and office space for innovative startups, including Arkeon and its upcoming demo facility plans. The commissioning of the 3000L bioreactor is scheduled for the end of 2024 and is expected to mark the company's entry into commercial production capacity. Subsequently, Arkeon plans to expand its production to full scale bioreactors with volumes of 800 – 1,000 m3. Already now, partnerships have been established with global companies to develop new and innovative protein applications for functional food and beverage products for the food industry.