In Denmark, Unibio has opened a commercial fermentation plant to convert natural gas into a highly concentrated, single-cell protein and produce up to 80 tonnes per year. The protein-rich biomass is naturally developed without genetic manipulation; can be used as a direct supplement in animal feed; and has already been tested as feed for salmon, calves, pigs and chickens with positive results in terms of acceptance and growth rates.
Approved by the EU as ingredient in animal feed, all plant output has been sold to Vestjyllands Andel, a Danish animal feed manufacturer, as part of an offtake agreement signed earlier in the year.
Unibio also signed its first license agreement with an Eastern European based client earlier this year to supply the European and Russian markets. As a result of this agreement, a second full-size commercial plant is planned and expected to be in production by the second half of 2017.