On a cold morning in Espoo, a story that began in the 1960s with beakers of brownish pulp-mill liquor has reawakened as a thesis for the future of food. Engineers at a Finnish forest-industry lab once noticed that if they left “this stuff” on a bench, fungus started to grow, an offhand observation that led to PEKILO, the world’s first commercial mycoprotein, produced at scale between 1975 and 1991 for animal feed.
Today, Enifer, a VTT spin-out founded in 2020, has revived PEKILO as a modern, food‑grade, side‑stream‑upcycling process and is building a €33 million factory in Kirkkonummi to produce up to 3,000 tonnes per year. “We’re working with an old innovation that has already been proven to work at scale,” CEO Simo Ellilä told AgFunderNews, pointing to the unusual advantage of scaling a technology that has run before.
The origin myth has a touch of serendipity. As Ellilä recounted to TechCrunch, PEKILO was “very actively forgotten” after the pulp sector shifted its waste strategy, and the team only stumbled on the archives thanks to a retired R&D leader at Valio who remembered the program. Enifer’s own timeline underscores this arc: a “lost” Finnish fermentation trick reimagined with food‑industry side streams such as lactose permeate from dairies instead of spent sulphite liquor.
At the heart of Enifer’s process is a filamentous fungus (Paecilomyces variotii KCL‑24) cultivated in submerged, continuous fermentation, then dewatered, dried, and milled into a shelf‑stable, neutral‑tasting powder. Unlike most competitors who ship wet biomass, Enifer emphasises a dry ingredient, logistically simpler, versatile across aquafeed, pet food, and human foods.
Crucially, PEKILO’s feedstock flexibility is a design choice with both cost and carbon dividends: the bioprocess can run on industrial and agri‑food side streams (e.g., molasses, lactose permeate), not just refined sugars, and can be powered with renewable electricity. Enifer’s partners, Skretting (Nutreco), Purina, and Valio, have already validated early applications (salmon feed performance, pet food formulations, consumer R&D), signalling real B2B demand.
Enifer’s first factory, supported by EU NextGenerationEU funds, the Finnish Climate Fund, and Finnvera, targets a 3,000‑tonne annual output, with ramp‑up from 2026. The company filed an EU Novel Food dossier in October 2024, aiming for EU market entry post‑authorisation; in parallel, it has pursued US GRAS pathways to accelerate time‑to‑market outside Europe.
“A key objective for the original developers of PEKILO was to take this amazing source of protein to food applications,” Ellilä said as the factory financing closed. “This plant will be a critical stepping stone to scaling PEKILO as a truly universal protein source.”.
Enifer is a lens on a bigger Nordic thesis: single‑cell protein (SCP) as climate‑resilient, land‑ and water‑lite infrastructure for food and feed. While the UK’s Quorn (Marlow Foods) remains the historic reference point for Fusarium venenatum mycoprotein, with EU status clarified in 2024 for certain strains as non‑novel based on pre‑1997 use, the Nordic ecosystem is now pushing new substrates, organisms, and business models.
Solar Foods (Finland) ferments hydrogen‑oxidising bacteria into Solein, using CO₂, nitrogen, and green electricity, a radical decoupling of protein production from agriculture. It won Singapore approval in 2022, achieved self‑affirmed GRAS in the US in 2024, and expects EU Novel Food approval in 2026 after addressing EFSA’s latest queries with data from Factory 01.
ENOUGH (Scotland–Netherlands, with deep EU programme links) is scaling ABUNDA mycoprotein (also F. venenatum) in a zero‑waste integrated biorefinery co‑located with Cargill, now at 10,000 tonnes with plans to reach 60,000 tonnes within five years, positioning for a million tonnes by 2032. Cargill markets ABUNDA in EMEA as an ingredient to build whole‑muscle meat analogues, reflecting a shift from mince to texture‑led formats.
And although Calysta is not Nordic, its methane‑oxidising FeedKind SCP is reshaping aquafeed economics in Asia and beyond; a JV plant in Chongqing now produces “thousands of tonnes,” backed by formal aquafeed approval in China (MARA 2024). The common thread is platformisation: controlled bioprocesses turning gases or industrial side streams into consistent proteins independent of harvests, rainfall, or arable land.
Substrates & organisms
- Enifer (PEKILO): filamentous fungus Paecilomyces variotii grown on food‑industry by‑product streams (e.g., lactose permeate, molasses) in stirred tanks, then dried to a powder (≈ 50–65% protein depending on application; higher in feed). The key differentiator is feedstock flexibility and a dry, B2B ingredient format.
- ENOUGH (ABUNDA): Fusarium venenatum on glucose from grains; the Sas van Gent plant integrates with a Cargill ethanol site in a circular, zero‑waste set‑up (fermentation effluent becomes ethanol feedstock).
- Solar Foods (Solein): hydrogen/CO₂ gas fermentation ((Knallgas (aerobic hydrogen-oxidizing) bacteria)) powered by renewable electricity; the protein is aimed first at health & performance nutrition, then broader food use post‑EU approval.
- Calysta (FeedKind): Methylococcus‑type bacteria oxidising methane into protein at industrial scale; now commercial in China for fish and shrimp feed.
All four rely on controlled aerobic fermentation (stirred tanks or airlift), followed by biomass separation, thermal inactivation, dewatering, and either drying (Enifer, ENOUGH, Calysta) or further formulation. The unit operations are well understood in brewing and enzyme industries, lowering scale‑up risk compared with more exotic cellular agriculture routes.
Filamentous fungi offer fibrous texture and dietary fibre (β‑glucans, chitin‑like polysaccharides), appealing in “whole‑food” narratives; chemolithoautotrophs (Solar Foods) and methanotrophs (Calysta) unlock feedstock independence and high volumetric productivity.
How the goalposts moved – slightly
For Europe, mycoprotein is both old and new. Quorn’s strain (F. venenatum A3/5) rides a pre‑1997 consumption history; in 2024, the Commission clarified that ingredients from the same strain and method can be treated as non‑novel in specified conditions, avoiding a full EFSA authorisation. But new organisms, or even different strains of the same species, generally face the Novel Food pathway. A 2025 EFSA administrative guidance update tightened dossier expectations (e.g., batch analyses, stability, ADME), with implementation from 1 February 2025.
This is the lane Enifer is in: EFSA filing October 31, 2024, first Nordic mycoprotein dossier of its kind; the company is also preparing for UK, US, and Singapore submissions and has already pursued self‑affirmed GRAS in the US to enable earlier launches. Meanwhile, The Protein Brewery (Netherlands) won a positive EFSA opinion in December 2025 for Fermotein (from Rhizomucor pusillus), highlighting the timeframes (five‑plus years) and data depth required, yet also proving that filamentous fungal biomass can make it through the EU system.
For Solar Foods, EFSA’s additional queries were addressed in early 2025 with Factory‑01 data, and the company still guides to EU approval in 2026, a useful benchmark for timing.
“Compiling our safety data to meet EFSA standards gives us a solid foundation to expand into other jurisdictions,” Ellilä said in 2024, reflecting a now common strategy: start with Europe’s rigorous bar, then port dossiers to the US, UK, and Singapore.
Where SCP bites first
Aquafeed and pet food are near‑term beachheads. Skretting confirms salmon feed trials with PEKILO and frames Enifer’s scale‑up as a “promising next step” toward broad mycoprotein inclusion. Chinese approval for FeedKind unlocks the world’s largest aquafeed market, with production already live; evidence that non‑agricultural proteins can clear regulatory and supply hurdles and compete at volume.
For human food, the commercial race balances price, texture, and label. ENOUGH pitches ABUNDA’s fibrousness for whole‑muscle formats, leveraging Cargill’s distribution and a B2B model; Cargill now actively markets ABUNDA as a go‑to ingredient for chicken and fish analogues, a signal for product developers. Enifer’s dry, neutral powder profile opens beyond meat analogues (into baked goods, cereals, snacks, and hybrid dairy) lowering reliance on any single category.
The economics hinge on capex per annual tonne, substrate cost, and fermentation productivity. Enifer’s €33 million plant for 3,000 t/y (ex‑utilities/working capital) implies ~€11k capex per annual tonne (competitive against many precision‑fermentation plays) and its ability to upcycle side streams rather than purchase refined glucose is an OPEX advantage. ENOUGH’s zero‑waste tie‑in with Cargill improves both cost and scope‑3 credentials; Solar Foods’ pathway depends on renewable power prices and electrolyser/H₂ costs but offers wholesale land decoupling, a compelling hedge as climate volatility escalates.
While cross‑company LCAs vary in scope and maturity, directional signals are clear:
- Enifer positions PEKILO as having very low CO₂e when powered by renewables; third‑party coverage cites figures on the order of ~1.66 kg CO₂e/kg protein (claimed to be ~98% lower than beef and about half of milk), though peer‑reviewed disclosures will matter for procurement.
- ENOUGH highlights orders‑of‑magnitude improvements in feed, water, and CO₂ versus beef and chicken and a scalable roadmap (10,000 → 60,000 → 1,000,000 t) under EU‑funded PLENITUDE, exactly the kind of industrialised decarbonisation that policy‑makers seek.
- Solar Foods’ promise is agri‑independent protein: no farms, negligible water, and siting flexibility wherever green power and CO₂ streams are available, if the power is clean, the protein is clean.
- Calysta frames FeedKind as land‑free and year‑round, now validated by MARA for aquaculture, an especially important lever as marine ingredients face supply and price volatility.
The circular bioeconomy argument, turning industrial side streams into edible protein, is where the Nordics, with forestry, pulp/paper, and dairy clusters, possess unusual strategic assets. Enifer literally industrialises clean‑ups: recoding “waste” (e.g., lactose permeate) into nutrient inputs for fungi, then into protein and fibre for food and feed.
SCP must also pass the consumer sniff test in a post‑hype plant‑based market. Quorn’s decades of sales and the EU’s 2024 clarification on its strain, show that mycoprotein can be normal food, not lab exotica, if taste, texture, and price are right. Yet a trend shift has dented European meat analogues; even Quorn hit a rough patch in 2023–24 as shoppers scrutinised ultra‑processing and price.
Enifer and ENOUGH respond with whole‑biomass narratives (fewer additives, fibre‑rich, complete amino acids) and B2B formulations that avoid the pitfalls of trying to fully mimic red meat in every product. The dry, neutral PEKILO powder also invites fortification and blending strategies (think bakery, cereals, and hybrid dairy) where consumers are accustomed to fortificants and texture aids, softening the “meat mimicry” burden.
On safety, EFSA’s recent handling of Fermotein (positive opinion in Dec 2025) is instructive: identities confirmed by genomics, five‑batch composition data, full toxicology, and low allergenicity, an explicit template for fungal biomass approvals. The Novel Food catalogue and updated EFSA administrative guidance (effective Feb 2025) add procedural clarity (pre‑submission advice, transparency rules), but applicants should still budget years, not months.
“We’re incredibly proud to continue the work that visionary scientists began in the 1980s and to take this vital step towards bringing PEKILO to the market,” said Elisa Arte, Enifer’s ingredient development lead, when the EFSA dossier was filed.
Competitive landscape
- Feedstock agility & circularity (Enifer). Using side streams rather than pure sugars is unusually defensible on OPEX and sustainability, and plays to Nordic supply chains (dairy, brewing, starch), where offtake agreements can secure stable, low‑cost carbon inputs.
- Dry, B2B ingredient (Enifer). A powder with neutral taste reduces cold chain, broadens applications, and can slot into existing CIP‑validated dry handling lines. That contrasts with some wet‑mass mycoproteins requiring chilled logistics.
- Texture‑led whole‑muscle (ENOUGH). For brands seeking clean‑label fibrosity, ABUNDA’s structure is a selling point—one reason Cargill is co‑marketing.
- Agri‑independent scaling (Solar Foods, Calysta). Where electricity (Solar Foods) or gas (Calysta) is cheap, geographical siting can break away from crop constraints, an edge for energy‑rich Nordics in the long term.
Enifer’s 2024 raise, a mix of equity, state loans, Climate Fund support, and a €12 million NextGenerationEU grant, illustrates the blended‑finance model required to de‑risk first‑of‑a‑kind fermentation plants. Nordic industrial policy can further tilt the field via green‑power PPAs, heat integration with local industry, and public procurement (schools, hospitals) once human‑food approvals land.
Regulation. For novel fungal biomass, firms need to plan for five or more years from initial scoping to EU authorisation, even with EFSA’s updated guidance; Fermotein’s path shows it’s doable, if meticulously documented. The UK pathway and Singapore often move faster; the US GRAS route (including self‑affirmed GRAS) can unlock early B2B pilots. Enifer is following this multi‑jurisdiction playbook.
Scenarios
- By 2030, expect Nordic SCP capacity in the hundreds of thousands of tonnes, split across fungal biomass (food), fungal/bacterial (feed), and gas‑fermented proteins, with energy price and policy the determiners of where the biggest hubs land. ENOUGH’s trajectory (10k → 60k t/y) and Solar Foods’ guidance (EU approval 2026; Factory 02 plans) set the pace; Enifer’s model is modular, suited to replicate near side‑stream clusters.
- By 2035, if EU procurement and carbon pricing internalise land and water externalities, mycoprotein and gas‑protein could be price‑competitive for mainstream categories (fish, poultry analogues; blended bakery and dairy). Aquafeed adoption will likely be widespread, de‑risked by the China precedent for FeedKind and salmon trial results for PEKILO.
What’s next
- Enifer’s EFSA clock. Track EFSA questions and whether Enifer follows US GRAS notification to complement self‑affirmation. The company’s stated aim: EU approval by 2026 (press coverage has referenced that horizon).
- Supply deals. Look for Skretting inclusion rates in commercial salmon diets and Valio‑adjacent pilots (e.g., hybrid dairy, protein‑enriched foods).
- LCA transparency. Publication of peer‑reviewed LCAs will become table stakes as retailers and regulators demand scope‑3 clarity. Early signals are strong; third‑party‑verified disclosures will matter more.
- Policy shifts. EFSA’s 2025 admin guidance is live; any QPS (Qualified Presumption of Safety) evolution for certain filamentous fungi would materially reduce time‑to‑market for next‑gen strains.
The Nordic SCP surge is not a hype froth; it’s industrial biotech meeting circular economics. Enifer’s revival of PEKILO shows how old Finnish ingenuity can be retrofitted to a decarbonising food system: fungi, tanks, side streams, powder. Where Quorn proved the consumer case decades ago, a new wave is proving the infrastructure case, with different organisms, different substrates, and a different climate reality.
Or, as Ellilä framed it in a moment of candour: “We’re working with an old innovation that has already been proven to work at scale.” That may be exactly what the world needs now, not novelty for novelty’s sake, but proven fermentation, cleverly re‑tooled for a hotter, drier, more crowded planet.
References
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Aquafeed.com. (2024, January 10). Enifer secures €12 million grant to build a first-of-its-kind mycoprotein ingredient factory. https://www.aquafeed.com/products/suppliers-news/enifer-secures-12-million-grant-to-build-a-first-of-its-kind-mycoprotein-ingredient-factory/ [aquafeed.com]
Cargill. (n.d.). ABUNDA® mycoprotein | Alternative Proteins. https://www.cargill.com/food-beverage/emea/plant-proteins/mycoprotein [cargill.com]
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Solar Foods. (2025, Feb 3). Press release: Solar Foods moves one step closer to introducing Solein to the European market. https://investors.solarfoods.com/release/b2d87859-e297-47df-a282-4bbdb79bfa24 ; LinkedIn post (2025, Feb 3). https://www.linkedin.com/posts/solarfoods_foodofthefuture-outofthinair-nextgeneu-activity-7292177883219771392-K4-S [investors….rfoods.com], [linkedin.com]
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Additional context
- New Nutrition Business. (2024, Oct 10). A trend shift trips up a market leader. https://new-nutrition.com/nnbBlog/display/225 [new-nutrition.com]
- Nutritional Outlook. (2025, Dec 1). Fermotein receives favorable EFSA opinion.https://www.nutritionaloutlook.com/view/mycoprotein-ingredient-fermotein-receives-favorable-opinion-from-efsa-panel [nutritiona…utlook.com]
- Fish Farming Expert. (2024, Jan 31). China gives green light for protein-from-gas ingredient in aquafeed.https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/calysta-china-feed/china-gives-green-light-for-protein-from-gas-ingredient-in-aquafeed/1659522 [fishfarmin…expert.com]
