French-American agricultural bio-tech company Arbiom, has announced the beginning of its European collaborative project, Sylplant.

The company received a €14 million grant from the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU), a public-private partnership between the EU Commission and the Bio-based Industries Consortium.

Arbiom specialises in the production of proteins for feed and food applications by processing agricultural and wood residues. The Sylplant project gathers 17 partners from all aspects of the entire food and feed value chains, from feedstock manufacturers to retailers.

The investment will also see the construction and operation of Arbiom’s first plant in France. Marc Chevrel, Arbiom’s CEO, said: “This factory paves the way to Arbiom’s industrial deployment. It will bring 10,000 tons per year of alternative, highly nutritional and sustainable protein to the market to answer the future food needs.”

CBE JU executive director, Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore, said: “CBE JU is very proud to co-fund this pioneering project. Sylplant is the perfect answer to ensure European food security and sovereignty and so contributes to the viability of the food system.”

As part of the Sylplant project, the consortium will work on three objectives over the next three years. Firstly, the construction and operation of Arbiom’s plant to reach 10,000 tons of ingredient production annually. Secondly, validating the use of its Sylpro ingredient in aquafeed and petfood applications, and thirdly, developing the next generation of foods such as cheese analogues, meat analogues and specialised nutrition products with Arbiom’s ingredients.

The consortium includes Arbiom, Bel Group, Fibenol, The Lyfe Institute Research Centre, Satt Sayens, Agromousquetaires (through three entities), Biozoon, Centiv, Normandise Pet Food, Biomar, Eurofins Food Testing France, IFEU and PNO Consultants.

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