Sustainable protein in bioreactors – The Finnish Chemists' Society awarded Solar Foods as a circular economy innovator

Solar Foods Oyj has received the Circular Economy Innovation Award from the Finnish Chemists' Association. The award was presented to the winning company ChemBio Finland 2026 in the event.

Founded in 2017, VTT-based Solar Foods is a Finnish biotechnology pioneer who has developed a completely new way of producing protein, the Society of Finnish Chemists explains in its award.

The company's protein-rich microbial powder Solein is produced entirely in bioreactors. The innovative method thus frees protein production from the constraints of soil, weather and climate, enabling low-emission and resource-efficient production.

Patents already cover a large part of the globe

The award was received by the scientific director and founding member of Solar Foods Juha-Pekka Pitkänen is very happy about the attention.

“Every day at a startup is a challenge,” he says.

“Such recognitions are a joy and a source of strength, which helps us to move forward.”

According to Pitkänen, Solar Foods has just received a US patent for its protein production method, which utilizes a unique microbe the company discovered in Finnish nature.

The patent gives the company the exclusive right to produce Solein for food use through a fermentation process in which microbes are fed carbon dioxide taken from the air.

The technology has already been patented in Europe, Canada, Australia and China, among other places.

“The patent has been granted for an area that covers 45 percent of humanity, and when we receive the patents that are still being applied for, we will reach 80 percent,” Pitkänen says.

Production plant coming to Lappeenranta

Solein protein is already approved for use in food in Singapore and the USA, the company's main market. Pitkänen says the company is also awaiting approval from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

"The process will take time, as the application to EFSA was submitted 4,5 years ago. We certainly hope for a positive decision, at best already this year."

Solar Foods is currently planning its first industrial-scale production facility in Lappeenranta. The first phase of the facility is scheduled for completion at the end of 2028. At that time, the company's annual production will increase from the current 160 tons to up to 6,400 tons per year.

Waste carbon dioxide for recovery

Solar Foods' innovation is based on in-depth knowledge of chemistry, microbiology and process technology, the Finnish Chemists' Society reminds us.

Utilizing waste carbon dioxide as a carbon source for the fermentation process is technically groundbreaking.

The process requires precise control of gases, nutrients, and conditions, and advanced analytical methods to ensure product quality and safety.

In addition, Solar Foods represents a research-driven business, combining chemical expertise with solving the challenge of global sustainable development.

Educational initiative for sustainable food production

Juha-Pekka Pitkänen graduated with a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering in 2000 and defended his thesis in 2005 at the then Helsinki University of Technology.

"I am a chemist with a focus on biotechnology and received free education up to a PhD in technology. I think such a large investment from society obliges us to do everything we can to succeed as entrepreneurs."

Sustainable food production is also an exceptionally valuable goal to strive towards.

The award-winning work combines different materials

The Finnish Chemists' Society's Circular Economy Innovation Award is called The Thing. It is by a Chilean graphic designer Joel Meneses A work designed at Aalto University.

The work visualizes and concretizes the flow of industrial elements, as wood, metal, plastic and stone are joined together using various casting techniques. The end result is an elegant alliance of four elements in one geometric form.

Finnish Chemists' Society SKS is a non-affiliated scientific society that emphasizes the importance of chemistry in society, operates in international chemistry forums, and promotes networking between science, education, industry, and other societal actors.

Text: Leena Joutsen, Kemiamedia.fi

Photo: Messukeskus. Solar Foods' Scientific Director Juha-Pekka Pitkänen (center) received the Circular Economy Innovation Award from the Executive Director of the Finnish Chemists' Society, Sari Vihavainen, and Chairman Jan Lundell.