Clean Food Group (CFG) has gained access to one-million litres of fermentation capacity after buying the assets of Algal Omega 3 Ltd out of administration.
The business, which manufactures sustainable oils and fats through fermentation, was founded in 2022 on the back of over a decade of sector research.
Following the buyout of the 12-acre site in the north of England in Knowsley, Liverpool, CFG claims it is now the world’s largest manufacturer of yeast fermentation-derived sustainable oils and fats.
Commercial-scale production live
The business has already completed commercial-scale production at the site and manufactured two tonnes of oil in a recent fermentation run.
CFG will use the expansion to produce microbial oils at commercial scale, which will reduce the overall input costs needed in the production of sustainable fats and oils. This will also help to reduce the sale price of such oils.
CFG CEO Alex Neves said: “With this acquisition, we have fast-tracked our route to market, leapfrogging the traditional, capital-intensive path from pilot to demo to new build commercial plant, which can take years and cost upwards of $100M.”
The business has since advanced its Series A funding round in its bid to further capitalise on the $20bn market opportunity, adds Neves.
A bio ‘industrial revolution’
“This is not just the opening of a fermentation plant, it is the dawn of a new era in UK biotechnology, one that places the Liverpool city region at the beating heart of the new Bio-industrial revolution,” he says.
The new facility will be headed by former Dawn Foods managing director Bill Thurston, who also has experience with CSM Bakery.
Thurston, who has been announced MD of the new Knowsley facility, said: “With my 30 years of experience in commercial and food manufacturing, I look forward to rapidly establishing this site as a global leader in sustainable alternatives to tropical oils.”