MicroHarvest to enter Portugal

 In Companies, News, Start-Up

The German biotechnology startup MicroHarvest has completed a €8.5 million investment round to enter the Portuguese market to develop the fastest single cell protein production system.

The round was led by Astanor Ventures and Happiness Capital, and also the Portuguese venture capital company Faber and the current investor FoodLabs.
The financing will enable the startup based in Hamburg to grow its R&D team, build a pilot plant in Lisbon and boost production on a commercial scale. After a successful trial pilot this year, new production trials will be carried out on a larger scale, with more tests on product application with the goal of coming onto the Portuguese market in 2023.
With the focus on the growth of its new operation in Portugal, the startup aims to take advantage of the high quality of talent in Portugal in the biotechnology area, both young university graduates and experienced professionals returning to Portugal after various years working overseas, a case in point being the co-founder of and CTO of MicroHarvest, Luísa Cruz.
The company has also chosen Lisbon because it is a growing hub for startups in the biotechnology and food innovation areas, so the team thinks now is the ideal time to grow the company in Portugal.
MicroHarvest technology produces proteins by using bacteria at a speed and efficiency that widely exceeds existing methods. Being capable of rapidly increasing production is vital in order for it to become a relevant player in the B2B ingredients market, enabling the decentralised production of sustainable, nutritious, safe and high quality proteins across the entire value chain.
Applications for these proteins are many and range from animal feed, pet food and food for human consumption.