UK-based biotech business Clean Food Group has received a further £2.5 million in funding from Clean Growth Fund, taking its total raised to date to £13 million.
Clean Growth Fund is a climate-specific UK venture capital fund that provides UK clean-tech entrepreneurs with the expertise and capital they need to reduce carbon emissions and tackle the climate crisis.
The funding will be used to accelerate the commercialisation of Clean Food Group’s sustainable oils and fats technology. The proprietary technology platform uses proven, scalable yeast strains and fermentation technology and utilises food waste as its food source to deliver sustainable alternatives to traditional oil and fat ingredients.
Clean Food Group’s go-to-market product is an equivalent to high oleic palm oil. It is backed by an externally validated LCA that demonstrates it delivers a 90% reduction in greenhouse gases when compared with traditional palm oil.
Clean Food Group’s oil has been designed as a like-for-like drop-in ingredient that can be substituted in a number of consumables, including baked goods, confectionery and cosmetics applications.
Alex Neves, CEO and co-founder of Clean Food Group, said: “The capital raised with Clean Growth Fund will allow us to accelerate the scale-up of our technology platform while advancing critical regulatory and commercial pathways, with a fully funded commercialisation plan in place well into 2025."
Beverley Gower-Jones, founder and managing partner of Clean Growth Fund, added: “Backed by a strong technical base, Alex Neves and his team are well placed to commercialise the manufacture of palm oil substitutes and therefore reduce the reliance the food industry has on the production of palm oil, an industry which is one of the main drivers of deforestation and a major contributor to global CO₂ emissions. We are very pleased to support CFG’s development and growth.”
