Solar Foods has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two international customers regarding the commercialization of 6,000 tonnes of its air-based protein, Solein, per year. The MoUs are a joint plan of the companies and outline the principles of the planned collaboration.
Solar Foods has already been working with the companies on research and product development. If the collaboration leads to a binding agreement, the 6,000 tonne volume would correspond to approximately half the full production capacity of Solar Foods’ Factory 02, which is now in its pre-engineering phase and is aimed to be fully operational in 2030. The facility has an annual planned capacity of 12,800 tons, almost a hundred times that of the company’s Factory 01.
“These agreements serve as compelling proof of Solein’s commercial outlook,” says Pasi Vainikka, CEO of Solar Foods. ”We are now deepening our collaboration with customers through the development and commercialization of food, beverages and nutritional consumer products, aiming for new product launches first in the United States. These agreements also play an important role in preparing for the final investment decision for our industrial-scale production facility, Factory 02.”
“Solein excels as an ingredient”
Meanwhile, Solar Foods has also announced that Finnish food company Fazer will launch three limited-edition protein snacks made with Solein in the US. Sold under Fazer’s Taste the Future concept, the range features an oat snack drink in Choco flavor, a snack bar with a dark chocolate coating and hazelnuts, and a Banoffee flavor protein drink.
All three snacks are a source of protein, iron, and B12. Fazer will present them at the Future Food-Tech event in San Francisco on March 13-14 2025. The news comes after the company launched the world’s first air protein-based chocolate bar, powered by Solein, in Singapore last year.
“The products introduced by Fazer showcase how Solein excels as an ingredient in protein drinks and healthy snacking,” says Juan-Manuel Benitez-Garcia, Chief Commercial Officer of Solar Foods. “Solein is now commercially available in Singapore and the United States, and we are on track by our estimation to receive novel food approval in the EU in 2026. We can’t wait to see products made with Solein hit the shelves of stores and become available for consumers all over the world.”
