Dhampur Bio Organics (DBO), an Indian sugar company, has signed a 10-year deal with the Swiss fermentation startup Planetary to make mycoprotein and other protein and fibre ingredients from sugar and molasses, Green Queen reports. The two had been exploring a technology licence since January.
DBO will build and run the production plants using Planetary's BioBlocks platform for biomass and precision fermentation. Planetary supplies the technology and will buy the output, and the two plan a joint venture for further sales and offtake agreements. According to DBO's filing on the Bombay Stock Exchange, it will pay a royalty of 10% of after-tax revenue each quarter, plus one-time fees for engineering, installation, commissioning, training and setting up Planetary's data platform. DBO said the technology fits its existing business as a step of forward integration, with sugar and molasses as the feedstock.
Planetary's first focus is biomass-fermented mycoprotein. It aims to bring production costs below $1 a kilogram through partnerships with industrial players in countries rich in sugar and short of protein, and describes its model as turning low-value by-products of sugar mills into higher-value protein, fibre and enzymes. Its other sugar partners include the Swiss firm Schweizer Zucker and the Dutch cooperative Royal Cosun. It raised $28m earlier this year.
Planetary chief executive David Brandes wrote on LinkedIn that the deal means nutritional access in a country where 73% of the population is protein deficient, supply resilience where 98% of whey and plant proteins are imported, and a 30% cost reduction when exporting to Western markets. Those are the company's own figures.
The deal fits India's BioE3 strategy of biomanufacturing hubs and biofoundries; the government's roadmap targets a $2.6 trillion bioeconomy by 2047. Green Queen notes other recent alternative protein projects in India, including a joint venture between Israel's Brevel and The Wave Group for a microalgae ingredient factory in Uttar Pradesh. The report is by Anay Mridul.
Photo: Jan Ainali / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Source: Green Queen
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