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Macro plans for microalgae in Israel

Biotechnology Microalgae Aquatic plants +2 more

Kibbutz Yotvata and Brevel have agreed to build a commercial-scale manufacturing facility for the cultivation and production of microalgae-based protein and related products for the food and beverage industry.

Brevel combines sugar-based fermentation of microalgae with a high concentration of light at an industrial scale

The result, they say, is a protein that will be price competitive with pea and soy and is colour and flavour neutral.

The facility will be home to the largest fermentation reactors of their kind, with a capacity to produce 3,000 tonnes of dried products per year when fully operational.

Kibbutz Yotvata runs Yotvata Dairy Plant in joint ownership with Strauss, while investing in the field of food, renewable energy and sustainability.

According to Brevel, its technology is the first globally to combine sugar-based fermentation of microalgae with a high concentration of light at industrial scales. The result is a protein that will be price competitive with pea and soy and is colour and flavour neutral. Brevel’s protein solves immediate challenges in plant-based dairy and egg products that lack a valuable nutritional profile due to the need for very mildly flavored protein sources. The unique process enables the production of microalgae at a cost reduction of more than 90 percent and includes nutrient rich ingredients and functionalities that are only produced in the presence of light.

The facility is the first of its kind to be established in Israel and the first of multiple facilities to be constructed worldwide with additional partners that Brevel is already in discussions with.

“We are proud to build the largest facility of its kind in the world, which will be producing microalgae on a commercial scale to support rising demand in various markets,” said Hannan Shushan, Yotvata's CEO, in a press release. “Yotvata is dedicated towards finding sustainable solutions to feed the ever-growing world population and believes that the alternative-protein market will play a big part in that mission. The agreement with Brevel is a significant step in that direction”.

“The agreement with Yotvata is a milestone in the world of microalgae-based alternative protein. This first commercial scale manufacturing facility will enable us to move our vision forward: to become the number one choice for plant-based protein worldwide,” said Yonatan Golan, CEO and co-founder of Brevel.

“We are actively working to solve the biggest nutrition challenges that exist today. The company is achieving this by providing truly sustainable plant-based protein which is both colour and flavour neutral, and available for the first time at an affordable cost for the food industry’.

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