German plant in Dresden to mass-produce mycelium protein

The German producer has said the first production run will take place in four to five months, with the new plant in Dresden having been set up to overcome previous scalability bottlenecks. 

Designs for fermentation and downstream equipment that can be used to create muscle-like structure in its biomass without the need for extrusion or additives have already been identified. The business is now in the process of validating the technology and tweaking it to achieve higher yields. 

Speaking with Alix Chausson, head of business development, he said: "The focus right now is German and EU expansion for the rest of 2024, then the US before expanding into Asia and the rest of the world (including the UK)".​

The success at the new German plant also comes at the same time as Nosh’s Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) results conducted by ClimatePoint. 

The LCA findings confirm that the business has managed a 90.7% reduction in CO2 emissions. Currently, 9.19kg per kg of protein compared to 99.11kg per kg of conventional beef. 

They also show a reduction of 99.4% in land and water usage compared to traditional beef, and a 98.7% reduction in water usage compared to its meat counterpart. 

Felipe Lino, Nosh’s co-founder and CTO, said the results demonstrate that food can be produced successfully whilst minimising pollution and conserving vital resources. 

“As our global population expands and environmental concerns escalate, prioritising sustainability in food production is paramount,”​ Lino continued.

The company will also be looking to transition to renewable energy sources in the future, which it anticipates will lower its existing CO2 emissions by a further 80%.

Nosh’s CEO and co-founder, Tim Fronsek, added: “As we begin batch production in the coming months, we look forward to incorporating the findings of the LCA into our future work.”​

In other news, UK registered distillery numbers have exploded post-Covid.​​