COPENHAGEN, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unibio (“Unibio” or “the Group”), a biotech company with the most advanced technology producing single cell protein from natural gas, is pleased to announce the opening of the world’s first commercial U-Loop fermentation production facility with a capacity to produce up to 80 tonnes of UniProtein®, its proprietary single cell protein, per year. The Company is also honoured that, His Royal Highness Prince Joachim of Denmark, will be officially opening its plant in Kalundborg, Denmark on the 21st November 2016.
Commencement of commercial phase
The new plant marks the start of commercial production for the Group and is the first step in a planned global roll out of Unibio’s U-Loop® technology. The Company also received a major boost as the highly-respected publication, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, conducted research and published results confirming that Unibio’s high mass-transfer leads to significant improvements in yields from the fermentation process.
All output from the plant has been sold to Vestjyllands Andel, a Danish animal feed manufacturer, as part of an offtake agreement signed earlier in the year. In addition, Unibio signed its first license agreement with an Eastern European based client earlier this year, with the target to supply UniProtein® to the European and Russian markets. As a result of this agreement, a second full-size commercial plant is planned and expected to be completed and producing UniProtein® by the second half of 2017.
Demand for meat is on the increase and is expected to double at twice the speed of the world population – itself estimated to surpass 9 billion by 2050. Consequently, the demand for livestock and livestock feed has grown. Soybean, a key protein ingredient in animal feed, has seen its production increase by almost 400% over the past 40 years. This has been detrimental to the environment as rainforests and other vital biomes have been converted to agricultural land.
The Directors believe, Unibio’s patented technology is part of a sustainable solution to meet this continued demand. Approved by the EU, UniProtein® is a superior feed component with high protein content. It is developed naturally, is non-polluting and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 52% when compared to natural gas being flared to produce electricity. An additional benefit of Unibio’s technology is that the only by-product is clean water. It provides farmers and feed manufacturers with a ‘unique’ offering, the ability to produce feed and manage their costs without a negative impact on the environment.
Inaugural Ceremony
In addition to the HRH Prince Joachim of Denmark, the opening ceremony will be attended by a number of dignitaries including: Lars Chr. Lilleholt, the Minister for Energy, Utilities and Climate, Martin Damm, the Mayor of Kalundborg with Karen Hækkerup, CEO of the Danish Agriculture & Food Council as keynote speaker.
Commenting on the opening, Henrik Busch-Larsen, CEO of Unibio, said:
“We are deeply honoured that His Royal Highness Prince Joachim, has agreed to officially open the plant. We are very proud he has chosen to recognise the hard work of the team at Unibio that has enabled us to be first to market with UniProtein®, our single cell protein, and establish ourselves as a leader in our market – both technologically and in terms of the quality of our product.
“With the recent completion of the final upgrades to our technology and the completion of the plant we are ready to commence the commercial roll-out and deliver on our agreement with Vestjyllands Andel. We have been encouraged by the increasing number of enquiries to license our technology and look forward to continue to work towards the global roll out of our technology. “
Notes to Editors
About Unibio
Unibio is the developer of an innovative Single Cell Protein production technology called the U-Loop® technology, converting natural gas into a highly concentrated protein (UniProtein®) for sustainable food production targeting the animal compound feed markets.
UniProtein® benefits from superior nutritional content and product characteristics. The protein-rich biomass (72.9% protein) can be used as a direct supplement in animal feed. The key product characteristics include:
- Developed naturally without any genetic manipulation
- Non-polluting product reducing CO2 emissions by up to 52%
- Long shelf life and stable production process
- High protein quality allows for a more efficient diet with less quantities required, minimising nitrogen excretion
- Already tested as feed for salmon, calves, pigs and chickens with positive results in terms of acceptance and growth rates
- Approved by the EU as ingredient in animal feed
