GEA to Invest 20 Million Dollars in Technology Center for Alternative Proteins

Sustainable Food GEA to Invest 20 Million Dollars in Technology Center for Alternative Proteins

2024-02-19 Source: Press release GEA Group 2 min Reading Time

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GEA has plans to invest a whopping 20 million dollars for developing a technology center which focuses on alternative proteins. The center will be established in the state of Wisconsin, USA and will pilot microbial, cell-based and plant-based foods.

In June 2023, GEA inaugurated its New Food technology center in Hildesheim, Germany, as a development center for a more sustainable food industry. (Source: GEA/Mike Henning) — In June 2023, GEA inaugurated its New Food technology center in Hildesheim, Germany, as a development center for a more sustainable food industry.
(Source: GEA/Mike Henning)

Düsseldorf/Germany – GEA is investing 20 million dollars in a technology center for alternative proteins in the state of Wisconsin, USA. The new food tech hub will pilot microbial, cell-based and plant-based foods. GEA's state-of-the-art technologies and a team of biotechnology experts form the basis for scaling new food for industrial production, which is increasingly in demand in the USA. Groundbreaking at the new GEA campus in Janesville is scheduled for spring of 2024, with the opening to follow one year later.

The USA is one of the countries promoting the development of sustainable food options through favorable regulation and openness to innovative food technologies. For example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already approved cell-cultivated chicken meat in 2022 and last year confirmed that the use of precision-fermented milk proteins in foods is safe.

“A number of new food pioneers in the USA are already writing innovation history. When it comes to industrial production, the market is still on the starting blocks. GEA’s new food center bridges a gap in the innovation landscape, driving forward the development of complementary proteins through technology,” says Dr. Reimar Gutte, Senior Vice President Liquid and Fermentation Technologies, leading New Food at GEA.

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“Most new food companies are located in North America and the bulk of the investments in alternative proteins flow into this region. Consequently, there is an urgent need for scaling facilities like ours,” says Arpad Csay, who leads GEA’s North American new food business. “The GEA platform in Janesville will enable manufacturers to conduct their scaling and testing work without the need to invest in their own capital-intensive infrastructure. In this way, we will help overcome scaling challenges and accelerate the industry’s growth.”

Beyond testing and validating processes, GEA also intends to promote the training of biotechnology specialists in the 10,000 square-meter building. Attached to the GEA site for homogenizers, separators, pumps and valves, which opened in December 2023, the new food experts will enhance knowledge sharing with other disciplines. This project marks GEA’s second investment in a new food hub, which fast-tracks innovations from the lab to commercial-scale manufacturing. Prior to this, GEA inaugurated its technology center focusing on cell cultivation and fermentation in Hildesheim, Germany, in June 2023.

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