CaSe summary
Plant Protein Production AB (3P) bought a potato starch factory from Lyckeby Starch in 2022 and is now in the process of dismantling some of the equipment in the factory, adding new equipment and will have a production line in place by the end of 2023. The factory is situated just outside the city of Karlskrona in southern Sweden and covers a total area of 9,6 hectares comprised of the factory itself; a logistics and storage area and three large dams (each is 50 M x 50 M) previously used in the starch production process.
Production is estimated to start Q3/Q4, 2023 with an initial intake of 24 tonnes/day of broad bean/fava bean, grey peas, depending on availability, and this will be ramped up to 72 tonnes/day after the first 10 months of production. Product breakdown for each ton of product is: 200 kg of 95% protein (human consumption), 50 kg of protein isolate (feed product), approx. 150 kg shell/casing (feed product/pellets), 600 kg starch and carbohydrates (feed products/pellets). Beans and grey peas will be grown locally, eliminating the need for long transports.
Baltic Blue Mussel Farming
The archipelago off the coast Region Blekinge provides good conditions for commercial farming of small size blue mussels; too small for human consumption but suitable for using as a substitute for fish meal as a source of protein and Omega 3 in fish feed. The Baltic Sea is at a critical juncture in regard to overfishing and also an excess of nutrients in the water and we see here a partial solution to both problems. We now have two small scale mussel farms in place and expect a harvest of approximately 40 tonnes of mussels over a 16 – 18-month period with a filtration capacity of phosphorus and nitrogen estimated at 50 – 75,000,000 litres of water per hour. We expect to significantly increase the scope of the mussel farms within the next year using the newest technologies for easy harvesting and are shooting for an initial 10 fold increase in number of hectares covered.
3P has recently completed several large-scale tests of separating the mussel meat from the shells using a new mechanical/centrifugal technique, as this separation has been the largest hurdle for commercialization of mussel farming in the Baltic Region. The results exceeded expectations and are now being analysed: the finely ground shells as a component in chicken feed and the mussel meat as a fish feed ingredient.
Fish feed production
3P is working closely with SLU (The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) and several other actors in building a suitable recipe for fish feed containing the residual products from the protein production along with a concentrate of mussel meat and other products. The plan is to bring in an external actor to utilize the existing three dams to farm fish and to use this “new” fish feed in a controlled, smaller farm environment. There are also ongoing discussions with Norwegian based large scale fish farming operations who are looking at using this fish feed and possibly basing a 10,000 ton/year rainbow trout fish farm/processing facility in Blekinge. There are several reasons for locating this facility in Blekinge, among them the geographical location, easy access to deep sea harbours and access to excess heat/energy from the 3P and other production centres.
Goals
- Substituting plant-based soybeans with locally grown fava beans/grey peas.
- Substituting fish meal with mussel protein to alleviate overfishing and pollution in the Baltic Sea.
- Promoting land based, large scale fish farms using RAS systems and a more sustainable fish feed.
- Creating local food supply resilience in coastal areas.
Peter von Trampe
Senior Investment Manager Business Blekinge
+46 455 73 71 64