IN Brief:
- Solar Foods has completed advanced concept design for Factory 02 and moved into final design.
- GEA is negotiating the process-equipment package while Fortum develops hydrogen and utility infrastructure.
- The current strategy phases Factory 02 capacity from 3.2kt in 2028 towards 12.8kt annually by 2030.
Solar Foods has completed the advanced concept design phase for Factory 02 in Lappeenranta, Finland, and moved into final design work ahead of a planned investment decision during 2026.
The company’s half-year report says its partner network also took shape during the first six months of the year. Solar Foods entered an exclusivity agreement with GEA to negotiate the design, construction, and delivery of equipment and services for Factory 02, while Fortum is carrying out design and pre-engineering work covering hydrogen production, heating, cooling, and electrical infrastructure.
Factory 02 is intended to take Solein production beyond the company’s existing Factory 01 operation. Solar Foods produces the protein through gas fermentation using a microorganism, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, electricity, and mineral nutrients, making the next factory as dependent on energy and gas systems as it is on conventional food-processing equipment.
The project is moving into partner-led engineering
The half-year update is more concrete than another capacity ambition. GEA is negotiating both the process-equipment package and a longer-term strategic relationship, while Fortum’s remit places hydrogen and utility design directly inside the project rather than leaving those systems to be resolved after the main process has been specified.
Solar Foods is also examining real-estate investor options and has appointed Vicus Capital Advisors. The company still intends to make the final investment decision during 2026, but the decision remains conditional on sufficient total financing, binding customer agreements, progress with EU novel-food approval, and a No Questions Letter from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Financing has advanced during the year. A €77.8 million Business Finland package announced in June combines a €39.6 million grant with a €38.1 million research and development loan for construction and commissioning. Solar Foods also raised approximately €25 million through a directed share issue in January. The public funding remains conditional on a Factory 02 investment decision and the company securing the overall financing package.
The production plan has also been revised from the earlier single-capacity description carried on some Solar Foods pages. The company’s current investor strategy sets out a phased Factory 02 build: 3.2 kilotonnes of annual capacity targeted for 2028, a further 3.2 kilotonnes in 2029, and another 6.4 kilotonnes in 2030. In parallel, Solar Foods plans to increase Factory 01’s annual design capacity from 160 tonnes to 230 tonnes during 2026.
Solar Foods’ current strategy is designed to reduce the amount of capital committed before demand is proven at each step. The first 3.2-kilotonne phase is listed with €134 million of capital expenditure before possible savings from brownfield infrastructure, external hydrogen supply, or grants. That staged approach gives the company several commissioning and commercial checkpoints instead of asking customers and investors to absorb the risk of a full build in one decision.
Commercial demand has to develop with the plant
The scale-up is running alongside early US commercialisation. Ambrosia Collective launched a ready-to-mix protein powder using Solein during the first half, while another US customer placed an order for product-development work. Solar Foods is concentrating initially on health and performance nutrition while seeking larger consumer-packaged-goods partnerships and binding offtake commitments.
The financial figures still describe a business in investment mode. Revenue for January to June was €0.1 million, operating loss was €6.8 million, cash and cash equivalents stood at €27 million at the end of the period, and the order book was €0.2 million. Those figures make customer conversion and staged capital deployment central to the Factory 02 programme rather than parallel commercial concerns.
The engineering scale-up is substantial even under the phased plan. Factory 01 provides commercial operating data, but larger fermenters and downstream systems increase the consequences of contamination, utility instability, maintenance, and lost production time. Hydrogen supply, gas transfer, cooling, drying, cleaning, and product consistency all have to scale together if added nameplate capacity is to become saleable ingredient output.
GEA and Fortum give Solar Foods established partners on the process and energy sides, but neither agreement removes the remaining financing, regulatory, and market conditions. The next decision point is therefore unusually clear: advanced concept design is finished, final design is under way, and 2026 still carries the target for investment approval. Factory 02 will only move from engineering programme to construction project when those strands converge.
