US biotech firm opens UK fishmeal replacement plant

California, U.S.A.-based biotech company Calysta Inc. has opened its research and development (R&D) and market introduction facility in the north of England that will manufacture sample quantities of its fishmeal replacement protein aimed primarily at the United Kingdom’s salmon farming industry.

Located at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), Teesside, Calysta’s new site will produce small quantities of its new FeedKind protein, a non-GMO fish feed ingredient. Approved for sale in the European Union, FeedKind is manufactured using a gas fermentation process.

The plant is supported by a conditional Exceptional Regional Growth Fund (EGRF) award and represents a total potential investment of GBP 30 million (USD 39 million, EUR 34.9 million).

Anna Turley, Member of Parliament for Redcar, officially opened the facility.

“As well as generating investment and employment in Teesside, this facility puts the U.K. at the forefront of the race to address the world’s growing protein demand with novel technologies. I am really pleased that Calysta has chosen to base its biotech project here and look forward to seeing the facility develop further,” Turley said.

The facility will become fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2016, when it will provide employment for 35 to 40 people.

“The opening of this [UK] plant represents the end of a decade of development and heralds a new era in the race to sustainably feed the world’s growing population,” said Alan Shaw, president and CEO of Calysta. “By 2050, the global population is expected to rise from 7.4 billion today to 9.6 billion and require 70 percent more protein than is currently available. Calysta can help meet this need by supplying the aquaculture industry with a naturally produced, sustainable and traceable feed alternative to replace conventional ingredients based on fishmeal and soya. Calysta’s proprietary technology enables retailers and consumers to have increased confidence in the integrity of their food.”

According to Shaw, FeedKind has shown improved growth rates, nitrogen retention and gut health in Atlantic salmon.

Earlier this year, Calysta partnered with Cargill for production of its FeedKind protein in North America and entered into a global joint marketing agreement. A world scale plant is expected to open in the United States by 2018.

Calysta has two business units: Calysta Nutrition develops and commercializes fish and livestock nutritional products, while Calysta Energy develops high-value industrial chemical products.

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