Liberation Labs has struck a deal with Dutch startup Vivici to produce the latter’s ‘Vivitein’ whey protein (beta-lactoglobulin) at its biomanufacturing facility in Richmond, Indiana, when commercial production begins at the site next year.
The initial phase of the facility—with 600,000-L of fermentation capacity—should be complete by the end of the year, says Liberation Labs, which is conducting a feasibility study funded by the Dept of Defense to expand the site to a 4-million-liter facility.
“Vivici is a perfect reference case for our facility: a company seeking cost-effective and sustainable manufacturing of a novel protein ingredient that unlocks a range of other healthy and innovative products,” said CEO Mark Warner, who has just struck a deal with NEOM Investment Fund to build a precision fermentation facility in Saudi Arabia.
“Our partnership with Liberation Labs expands our European manufacturing capabilities, providing US customers with increased supply security for Vivitein BLG,” said Vivici CEO Stephan van Sint Fiet.
Ready for prime time
A startup formed by Fonterra and DSM-Firmenich to produce dairy proteins via precision fermentation, Vivici was arguably late to the animal-free dairy game, but has been able to move rapidly by leveraging its founders’ expertise in dairy proteins and industrial-scale biomanufacturing, van Sint Fiet told AgFunderNews in February.
“We entered the scene about two years ago as the new kid on the block, and since then, we’ve leapfrogged a lot of the field and catapulted ourselves to the front. We have a very strong technology base, a deep understanding of ingredient applications and marketing, and a team with a track record of bringing innovations to market.”
The firm, which recently raised a €32.5 million ($34 million) Series A, has been working with partners in Europe with small scale facilities to produce beta-lactoglobulin and was the first firm to road-test its process in a new 75,000-liter fermenter at the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) in Ghent, Belgium.
“We did a successful commissioning run with them and now we have European partners that are able to produce at full industrial scale, by which I mean hundreds of cubic meters of fermentation capacity,” said van Sint Fiet.
While some commentators have questioned whether it is commercially viable to produce whey proteins via precision fermentation, he said, “From our perspective, we have now matured our bioprocess to the extent where we think it’s ready for prime time.
“We’ve always communicated that our goal is to bring whey proteins to the market at price parity to where they are traded at today in the market and our manufacturing strategy is geared towards achieving exactly that.”
Applications for beta-lactoglobulin and lactoferrin
Vivici’s beta-lactoglobulin is attracting interest premium protein beverages and snacks, sports nutrition, and active nutrition.
Bovine lactoferrin, a higher-value protein Vivici plans to launch in the second half of the year, has applications in similar areas, added van Sint Fiet.
“We never wanted to be a one-trick pony, and there are technology and market synergies between beta-lactoglobulin and lactoferrin. We use the same production host and we’re able to use similar upstream and downstream processes for both.”
Vivici has already secured self-GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status for its beta-lactoglobulin and plans to submit a GRAS notice to the FDA for lactoferrin in due course, he said.
