Solar Foods secures EU backing to bring hydrogen-based protein production into BalticSeaH2

Solar Foods has joined the EU-funded BalticSeaH2 project, securing €350,000 (US$409,710) to further develop production of its Solein protein as part of a large-scale hydrogen economy initiative around the Baltic Sea.

• Solar Foods received €350,000 (US$409,710) to expand Solein production capacity at its Factory 01 facility.
• BalticSeaH2 brought together 40 partners from nine countries to build a cross-border hydrogen valley in Europe.
• Solein production used hydrogen and carbon dioxide as key raw materials through gas fermentation.

BalticSeaH2 was established to build what the project described as Europe’s largest cross-border hydrogen valley. The five-year initiative started in June 2023 and brought together 40 partners from nine Baltic Sea area countries to develop an integrated, interregional hydrogen economy.

The project has a total volume of €33 million (US$38.63 million), including €25 million (US$29.27 million) in EU funding. The Clean Hydrogen Partnership supported European hydrogen valley projects through RePowerEU funding from the European Commission.

Within BalticSeaH2, Solar Foods will demonstrate an industrial use case for hydrogen in protein production. The company produces Solein, a protein ingredient for the food industry made through gas fermentation using hydrogen and carbon dioxide as main raw materials.

“We are excited to join BalticSeaH2 and be a part of developing different value chains and sector integration in the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen is one of the main raw materials in our production, and we are very proud to be the global frontrunners in bringing the hydrogen economy also to the food industry and protein production,” said Petri Tervasmäki, Chief Technical Officer of Solar Foods.

Solar Foods’ participation adds food production to a project designed to showcase hydrogen applications across multiple industries. BalticSeaH2 includes more than 20 use cases across the hydrogen value chain, with the aim of demonstrating how hydrogen can support lower-carbon production models in sectors beyond energy.

At Solar Foods’ Factory 01 facility, hydrogen is produced in an electrolyzer by splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen using renewable electricity. The company will use the BalticSeaH2 funding to increase Solein production capacity at the site.

Factory 01 has an annual production capacity of 160 tons. Solar Foods is also planning its next facility, Factory 02, which is designed to raise annual Solein production capacity to 6,400 tons.

The company has indicated that Factory 02 will be developed with strategic partners responsible for areas including hydrogen production. That structure is intended to allow Solar Foods to focus on its gas fermentation technology, related biology, and the global commercialization of Solein.

Solar Foods is also part of H2 Springboard, a next-generation hydrogen technology development ecosystem.