LONDON, UK: Clean Food Group, a UK-based biotech company that produces sustainable oils and fats from food waste, has announced a further £2.3 million in funding to accelerate the commercialisation of its technology.

The funding round attracted international investment from industrial food specialists Doehler Group and Alianza Team, as well as existing investors Agronomics and SEED Innovations Ltd.

The company said the capital raised will enable it to scale up its technology platform, advance critical regulatory and commercial pathways, and prepare for a Series A funding in 2024. The company aims to build a commercial scale manufacturing facility by then, and have a clear line of sight to near term revenue generation.

Clean Food Group has developed a proprietary technology platform that uses proven, scalable yeast strains and fermentation technology to convert food waste into high performance, sustainable ingredients for food and cosmetic applications. The company claims its technology can produce oils and fats that are healthier, more environmentally friendly, and more cost-effective than traditional sources.

The company has also recently signed a services agreement with Doehler Group, a global provider of natural ingredients and solutions for the food and beverage industry, to rapidly scale up its fermentation process to a commercial level, and enable the manufacture of product batches required for regulatory approval for cosmetics and food applications. The company said it has successfully completed a fermentation run at 1,000 litres, and expects to complete the manufacture of product batches for the regulatory approvals later this year.

In addition, the company has strengthened its operational team with the hires of Dr. James Mercer as Head of Manufacturing and Scale-up, and Andrea Cattaruzza as Head of Product. Dr. Mercer has over 25 years of experience in industrial fermentation and scale-up of alternative proteins, while Cattaruzza has 30 years of experience from Mars Global Chocolate, where he was Director of Science.

Clean Food Group Co-founder and CEO Alex Neves said, “We are delighted with the rapid progress the business has made in the past year. The successful conclusion of this current funding round validates the important strides our business is taking in solving critical sustainability and supply chain challenges facing our food and cosmetic manufacturer customers. We are now in a great position to validate our technology at a commercial scale, advance our regulatory pathways and develop our growing list of commercial partners in advance of our Series A next year”.

Clean Food Group’s technology platform is the result of eight years of pioneering research led by Professor Chris Chuck, Technical Lead at Clean Food Group. Professor Chuck said, “Our technology platform is unique in its ability to produce oils and fats that are tailored to specific applications, while using food waste as a feedstock. This not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions and waste disposal costs, but also creates new value streams for food manufacturers and consumers”.

Agronomics invests €4 million in Meatable, a Dutch cultivated meat company