Novozymes, a supplier of enzyme and microbial technologies headquartered in Denmark, has contracted GEA for the turnkey fitting of a major facility to produce plant-based proteins for the food industry. Building of the factory in Nebraska, USA, will start later this year and is expected to be completed towards the end of 2023. 

“The demand for foods that have a demonstrably lower environmental footprint than conventionally produced products is growing enormously,” said GEA CEO Stefan Klebert. “With our technologies and experience in scaling industrial applications, GEA is ideally positioned to serve the new food market and thus contribute to our corporate purpose of ‘engineering for a better world’,” said Klebert. “We are pleased to partner with Novozymes in this strategic project.” 

Recently, Novozymes announced its intention to invest DKK 2 bn ($315m) in the growth market for functional proteins for the food industry. “This investment in a new, state-of-the-art production line in Blair, Nebraska, underscores our commitment to feeding the world sustainably and demonstrating the true strength of biotechnology,” said COO & Executive VP Graziela Chaluppe dos Santos Malucelli, Novozymes. 

The plant covers the manufacturing steps from harvesting to separation of proteins. According to Heinz-Jürgen Kroner, Senior VP Liquid Technologies at GEA , said: “This project is exceptional in many respects. The intensive bidding phase saw us planning the production lines for the ingredients less than a year later. We now aim to implement the project at the same pace. The partnership is a very rewarding experience.” 

GEA will construct the process systems, which include membrane filters, mixers, homogenizers, heat exchangers, pasteurizers and UHT units, cleaning and filling systems as well as the pump and valve technology. Installation will start mid-2022. The production capacity initially built can also be expanded to multiply the capacity in the future as demand grows.