Food-tech company Solar Foods’ newly granted US patent for its proprietary process of making a high-quality protein from air strengthens the Finnish company’s competitive moat at a pivotal moment in its transition from pilot-scale production to global commercialization.
The US Patent gives Solar Foods an exclusive right to produce its sustainable, all-purpose and mild-tasting animal-free protein Solein for food. The patent covers production of a microorganism via a gas fermentation process that the company’s Brand & Marketing Director Laura Sinisalo described at Future Food Tech in San Francisco last month as a “big Soda Stream.”
The patent strengthens the company’s intellectual property in one of the major protein-consuming markets in the world, and reinforces other patents it holds in Europe, Canada, Australia and China.
The April 15 announcement comes as the company weighs investment in a second production facility that it is designing, which would expand Solar Foods’ capacity from 160 tons of Solein to 6,400 tons annually. The first phase of production at the facility is slated for the end of 2028, according to the company, which also plans to open additional facilities around the world.
A protein ‘from air’
At the center of Solar Foods’ newly patented technology is a single-celled microorganism that Sinisalo said the company discovered “in the Finnish wilderness,” and which she notes is unique because it can grow in the dark without photosynthesis.
Instead, she said, the microorganism takes its energy from hydrogen and replicates in a “small amount of water and minerals” that the company injects with carbon dioxide from the air in a fermenter that is “quite like a big Soda Stream.”
Once “the magic starts happening,” the microorganism divides endlessly to create a thick biomass that is removed from the excess water continuously and then gently dried to create Solein.
“Our harvest season lasts only three days and this enables us to also say that we are one of the most sustainable proteins on Earth,” Sinisalo said. Her declaration is reinforced by the company’s use of wind to power its current facility.
What makes Solein different from other protein?
As a microbial protein, Solein is neither a plant nor animal protein, which when paired with its nutritional profile gives it a competitive advantage for broad food applications by manufacturers courting vegetarians, vegans and flexitarians.
“Solein is an all-purpose ingredient. It is highly nutritious, functional and has a very mild taste. It is completely animal-free, it is non-GMO, gluten-free and dairy-free. So, it is a sustainable and ethical choice,” Sinisalo said.
It also hits the nutritional demands of modern consumers looking for more protein and fiber. It is 80% protein, has a Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score of 1 – the highest possible based on human animo acid needs and digestibility. It also is 10% fiber, 6% healthy fats, like omega-9, and 4% minerals, including iron and B-12, which are in demand among vegetarians and vegans.
“It is very unique in the sense that it has so much nutritional quality,” Sinisalo said. “It is able to outperform many other proteins – even plants can’t really compete.”
Completing the hat-trick of nutrition and function is taste, she added.
“If something is very functional and nutritious, that may not be enough. Taste is key,” and Solein’s neutral profile allows it to be easily incorporated into a range of applications, including beverages, on-the-go snacks and even confections, she said.
Why Solein matters now
A central argument for Solein is the resilience Solar Foods’ technology offers, including the ability to decouple protein production from land use, weather and agricultural constraints.
“We can produce Solein anywhere we have renewable electricity available. So, in deserts, the Arctic or even Mars,” Sinisalo said.
She adds that the now patented technology solves for structural pressures in the global food system, including land scarcity, climate volatility and fluctuating ingredient prices.
“Conventional food production is running out of time. There is not enough arable land to feed the growing population,” Sinisalo said. “It is clear that we need more secure supply and new solutions to produce food and this is where we come in. We have a solution … a completely new harvest to humankind out of thin air.”
Scaling from pilot to global production
To deliver on the promise of Solein and Solar Foods’ technology, the company plans to rapidly scale production.
Currently, it operates one commercial facility, which began in 2024, but it is actively designing a second facility to dramatically scale output that will be in Finland, which Sinisalo notes “is a perfect place to demonstrate food production where food doesn’t really grow all year.”
The company is in the process of finalizing investment decisions for the second factory and already has memos of understanding with large CPG players in the health and performance category, Solar Foods CFO Ilkka Saura said at Future Food Tech in San Francisco.
He added the company closed a €25 million equity round in January, for which it expects investors will receive a 3.5x cash return over four years.
A positive outlook
These returns underscore the potential for the company’s high-quality protein, especially at a time when whey protein is constrained.
The estimates also speak to the power of the company’s technology, which Ilkka stressed offers strong margins at the industrial scale and could resemble software-like economics due to high efficiency and modular factory design.
With the US patent now secured, company executives say Solar Foods is in a better position to move forward with production and convert early partnerships into mainstream consumer adoption.
