Latest / The Manufacturing Podcast with Fexingo: Factories, Supply Chains, and Industrial Business / How a Factory in Denmark Turns Farm Waste into Protein
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, I was reading about this Danish company that's essentially brewing protein the same way you'd brew beer. And it's not a lab curiosity — it's a full-scale factory that started shipping product this year. Luna: Brewing protein? So they're not growing plants or raising animals — they're growing microbes in a tank and calling it food? Lucas: Exactly. The company is called Unibio, and they've been working on this since the early 2000s. Their process takes natural gas or methane, feeds it to a specific bacterium, and that bacterium multiplies into a protein-rich biomass. They dry it into a powder that goes into fish feed, pig feed, chicken feed — the same stuff you'd get from soybean meal, but without needing a single acre of farmland. Luna: So it's like a protein factory that runs on gas. But you said they're using agricultural waste — how does that fit? Lucas: Right, that's the twist. The original process used methane from natural gas, but now they're pivoting to biogas made from farm waste — manure, crop residues, food processing leftovers. So the same bacteria that once ate fossil gas can eat a renewable version, and the end product is basically identical. That's what makes it a circular story. Luna: So the bacteria are the heroes here. What's the actual bacterium called? Lucas: It's Methylococcus capsulatus. It's a methane-oxidizing bacterium that's found naturally in soil and water. Unibio licensed the technology and scaled it up in a proprietary fermenter design. The key is the loop reactor — it's a vertical loop that circulates the liquid and gas, which lets them pack way more biomass into the same footprint than a traditional stirred tank. Luna: So it's not just the microbe — it's the engineering around it. How big is their factory in Denmark, and what's the output? Lucas: Unibio's plant in Kalundborg, Denmark, is capable of producing about 80,000 tons of protein concentrate per year. To put that in perspective, that's roughly the protein equivalent of a few large soybean farms, but it's grown in a few stainless steel tanks. And Kalundborg is a smart spot — it's already an industrial symbiosis hub, where companies share energy, water, and side streams. Unibio slots right into that ecosystem. Luna: Eighty thousand tons is serious scale. But is it actually competitive with soybean meal on price? Because that's the real test. Lucas: That's the billion-dollar question. Right now, they're not trying to undercut soy on cost per ton. They're selling on other attributes — consistent quality, no pesticides, no deforestation, and a much smaller carbon footprint. Some feed producers will pay a premium for that, especially in Europe, where there's pressure to reduce imports of soy from the Americas. Luna: So it's a premium product, at least for now. But to be a real alternative, they need costs to come down. What's the path to that? Lucas: The big lever is the cost of methane. If they use waste biogas, the feedstock is essentially cheap or even free, but the capital cost of the biorefinery is still substantial. Unibio has been working on modular designs so they can build smaller units closer to farms, reducing transport costs. Also, the energy efficiency of the loop reactor means lower operating costs compared to other protein fermentation processes. Luna: So the factory itself is the product — not just the protein. Before we dive deeper into the economics, I'm curious: how does this fit into the broader protein transition? I keep hearing that Europe wants to reduce its reliance on imported soy. Lucas: Right, this is a big geopolitical and food security issue. The EU imports a huge share of its plant protein, mainly soy, and there's a strategic push to develop alternative sources. The European Commission even has a protein strategy that mentions novel fermentation technologies as a way to boost domestic production. Unibio is one of the pioneers trying to bring that from research papers to industrial reality. Luna: So it's not just about cost — it's about resilience. And you know, this is the kind of conversation that feels valuable to us. If today's episode moves your thinking forward in some small way, that's the link: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps us ad-free and independent. Lucas: Yeah, genuinely, listener support makes a difference for a niche show like ours. And now back to the protein — one thing that surprised me is the regulatory side. Getting a novel microbe approved for animal feed in Europe takes years and a lot of data. Luna: Right, so they've cleared that hurdle. What's the actual production process look like inside the factory? Lucas: Think of a brewery, but instead of beer, you get a cloudy broth full of bacterial cells. The loop reactor runs continuously — methane is bubbled in from the bottom, along with oxygen and nitrogen sources. The bacteria multiply, and the broth is continuously drawn off, then concentrated and dried. The drying step is energy-intensive, which is why they're looking at using waste heat from other factories in Kalundborg. Luna: So the factory is already integrated into that symbiosis model. Is there any risk that the bacteria escape or cause issues? Lucas: The same bacteria are everywhere in nature, so the risk is low, but they still run a closed system with filtration and sterilization steps. And because the bacteria are killed during drying, the final product is safe for feed. It's actually a selling point: no antibiotics, no hormones, just a highly concentrated protein. Luna: And what about the quality of the protein compared to soy? Is it comparable nutritionally? Lucas: It's actually higher in some aspects. Methylococcus protein contains about 70 percent crude protein by weight, which is higher than soybean meal's 48 to 50 percent. It also has a good amino acid profile, especially methionine and lysine, which are often limiting in plant-based feeds. That means feed formulators can use less of it to meet the animals' needs. Luna: So a little goes a long way. But I'm guessing the taste or palatability matters too. Do animals actually like eating it? Lucas: Unibio has run feeding trials with fish, pigs, and poultry, and the results are positive. Fish especially seem to do well — it's close to fishmeal, which is getting expensive and overfished. In aquaculture, this could be a game changer. They're also exploring human food applications, but that's a longer regulatory path. Luna: Human food from methane-eating bacteria? That might be a harder sell. But for animal feed, it seems like a no-brainer if the economics work. Lucas: Exactly. And that brings us to the business model. Unibio isn't just selling protein; they're selling the technology. They license their loop reactor design to partners who build and operate their own plants. This is how they plan to scale globally without building everything themselves. For example, they have a partnership in Russia and are looking at projects in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Luna: So they're an equipment maker and a feed ingredient supplier at the same time. That's a smart way to spread the risk. But what about competition? I've heard of other companies doing single-cell protein, like from hydrogen or from food waste. How does Unibio stand out? Lucas: The main differentiator is the loop reactor's efficiency. They claim it can produce protein at a rate that's several times higher per unit of reactor volume than conventional stirred tanks. That means lower capital costs and a smaller footprint, which is critical when you're building a factory that needs to be close to farms or waste streams. Luna: So the engineering is their moat. But is there a risk that the whole approach gets overtaken by something else, like plant-based meat or lab-grown meat? Lucas: I see them as complementary, not competitors. Plant-based and cultivated meat are aimed at human consumers. Unibio is mostly targeting animal feed, which is a massive market on its own — the global feed protein market is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. And as the world population grows and diets shift toward more protein, we'll need every solution we can get. Luna: So it's not a zero-sum game. What do you think is the biggest hurdle for Unibio going forward? Lucas: Scaling from one flagship plant to a global network. That requires a lot of capital and a deep understanding of local feed markets. Plus, they have to convince feed producers that this new protein is reliable and consistent, which takes time. But they've been at this for two decades, so they're patient. Luna: Patience is a virtue in manufacturing. So what's the one thing you want our listeners to remember from today? Lucas: That the future of protein might not come from a farm, but from a factory with a fermenter and a bacterial culture. And that's not sci-fi — it's already happening in Denmark. Luna: And that's worth a coffee, if you feel like it. But no pressure. We'll leave a link in the show notes. Lucas: Exactly. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time on The Manufacturing Podcast.