# Solar Foods

> Solar Foods Oyj is a Finnish food technology company, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Vantaa, Finland, on a mission to revolutionise global food production. It produces Solein®, a microbial protein powder made by gas fermentation: a naturally occurring, non-modified single-cell organism is fed hydrogen, carbon dioxide and mineral nutrients, using renewable electricity, and then dried into powder. Solein is sold as an ingredient to the food industry.

Key facts:
- Listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. Holds a Nasdaq Green Equity Designation (April 2024).
- Regulatory status: novel food approval in Singapore (Singapore Food Agency, September 2022). Self-affirmed GRAS status in the United States (September 2024). Novel food applications filed in the EU and UK.
- Production: Factory 01 in Vantaa, Finland, started operating in April 2024 with capacity of up to 160 tons of Solein per year. Factory 02 in Lappeenranta, Finland, is planned at 6,400 tons per year, with operations expected to begin in late 2028.
- Composition (dry weight): about 78–80% protein, with all nine essential amino acids, iron and vitamin B12. Solein is vegan, gluten-free, GMO-free, dairy-free and soy-free.

Consumer and ingredient-buyer information about Solein is on [solein.com](https://www.solein.com/).

## Work with Solar Foods
- [Contact](https://solarfoods.com/contact/): Contact form for collaborations, investor, media, and product and sales enquiries. The page lists the sales team email, the CFO as investor contact, executive team contacts, and the postal address (Solar Foods Oyj, Härkälenkki 11, 01730 Vantaa, Finland).
- [Distributors](https://solarfoods.com/qa/are-you-looking-for-new-distributors/): How distributors interested in Solein can contact Solar Foods.
- [Where to buy products with Solein](https://solarfoods.com/qa/where-and-when-can-we-buy-products-which-contain-solein/): Products and restaurants selling Solein in Singapore and the United States, and markets where approval is pending.
- [Operations and market timeline](https://solarfoods.com/qa/what-is-the-status-of-the-companys-operations-right-now-and-when-do-you-expect-we-can-see-solein-on-the-market/): Factory 01 start-up (April 2024), approvals in Singapore and the US, the November 2024 US launch at Olmsted restaurant in New York, and pending EU and UK applications.
- [Investors](https://investors.solarfoods.com/en): Solar Foods' investor relations site.
- [Media](https://solarfoods.com/media/): Downloadable images, videos and logos for editorial use, plus the press contact.

## Solein
- [Solein®](https://solarfoods.com/solein/): Product overview. Composition by dry weight, the nine essential amino acids, iron and vitamin B12, regulatory timeline and example applications (protein drinks, alternative meat, noodles, ice cream).
- [What is Solein?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/what-is-solein/): Definition of Solein as a microbial protein powder made by fermentation using air and electricity, with its greenhouse gas footprint compared to meat and plant protein.
- [Nutritional composition](https://solarfoods.com/qa/what-is-soleins-nutritional-composition/): Typical dry-weight breakdown: 78% protein, 6% fat, 2% carbohydrates, 10% dietary fibre, 4% minerals, plus iron (1.1 g/kg) and vitamin B12 (50 µg/kg).
- [Vegan, gluten-free and allergens](https://solarfoods.com/qa/is-it-vegan-and-gluten-free-does-it-contain-any-allergens/): Solein is vegan and 100% animal-free, gluten-free, GMO-free, dairy-free and soy-free.
- [Taste](https://solarfoods.com/qa/what-does-solein-taste-like/): Solein has a delicate taste with a note of umami and a mild aroma, and does not need flavour masking in finished products.
- [Use in foods](https://solarfoods.com/qa/how-is-solein-meant-to-be-used-in-foods/): Solein as a food-industry ingredient, covering its functional properties (emulsification, meat-like texture, curdling for dairy alternatives, fortification) and applications such as pasta, bread, plant-based dairy and beverages.

## Safety and regulation
- [Is Solein safe to eat?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/is-solein-safe-to-eat-what-is-the-gras-process-in-the-united-states-and-how-do-we-ensure-the-safety-of-our-product/): Regulatory approvals (Singapore in September 2022, US self-affirmed GRAS in September 2024), how the GRAS safety assessment works, and pending EU and UK novel food applications.
- [Is Solein healthy?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/is-solein-healthy/): Solar Foods makes no health claims compared with other protein sources. The page states Solein's nutritional composition.

## Science and production
- [Science](https://solarfoods.com/science/): How Solar Foods' gas fermentation works, using a single naturally occurring microbe grown without farmland. The page compares energy-to-calorie efficiency with animal agriculture.
- [How Solein is produced](https://solarfoods.com/qa/how-is-solein-produced/): Step by step: microbes from Finnish nature are grown in fermentors on hydrogen, carbon dioxide and mineral nutrients, then heat-treated, dewatered and dried into powder. No sugar feedstock is used.
- [Can food be produced from air?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/can-you-really-produce-food-from-just-air/): Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen can be captured from air. About 5% of the end product is inorganic nutrients, such as phosphorus and calcium, that cannot come from air.
- [Nitrogen and ammonia in the Solein bioprocess](https://solarfoods.com/a-green-haber-bosch-synthesis/): Blog post on the role of ammonia from Haber-Bosch synthesis as the nitrogen source for Solein.
- [Factory 01](https://solarfoods.com/factory-01/): The first commercial-scale Solein plant, in Vantaa, Finland. It has a 20,000-litre bioreactor and capacity of up to 160 tons per year. The page also covers plans for Factory 02 at 6,400 tons per year.
- [Space](https://solarfoods.com/space/): Solein for space applications: an ESA-funded project to test Solein production on the International Space Station, and the 2024 international category win in NASA and CSA's Deep Space Food Challenge.

## Sustainability
- [Impact](https://solarfoods.com/impact/): The environmental case for Solein: food-system emissions, land and freshwater use, and how Solein compares with livestock and plant protein production.
- [How ecological is Solein?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/how-ecological-is-solein/): Lifecycle-analysis result for Solein's environmental impact compared with plant-based and meat protein.
- [CO2 per kilogram of Solein](https://solarfoods.com/qa/how-much-co2-does-this-process-bind/): Producing one kilogram of Solein requires 1.85 kg of CO2.
- [Energy use](https://solarfoods.com/qa/does-producing-solein-consume-a-lot-of-energy/): Electricity is Solein's largest environmental footprint and must come from renewable or nuclear sources. The page gives electricity-to-calorie conversion efficiency (about 20%) and calories per hectare compared with photosynthetic crops.

## Company
- [About us](https://solarfoods.com/about-us/): Company background: founded in 2017 by Dr Pasi Vainikka and Dr Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, with headquarters and Factory 01 in Vantaa, Finland, and a listing on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland.
- [Nasdaq Green Equity Designation](https://solarfoods.com/qa/solar-foods-has-a-nasdaq-green-equity-designation-what-is-that/): What the designation is, its criteria (green turnover and investment, fossil-fuel turnover limits), and when Solar Foods obtained it (April 2024).
- [Q&A](https://solarfoods.com/media/qa/): Complete question-and-answer hub covering Solein, science, production, impact, space, regulation and availability.

## Milestones
- [EUR 77.8 million financing for Factory 02 (June 2026)](https://solarfoods.com/solar-foods-receives-eur-778-million-grant-and-loan-financing-for-the-construction-and-commissioning-of-factory-02/): Business Finland awarded a EUR 39.6 million grant and a EUR 38.1 million R&D loan to build and commission Factory 02 in Lappeenranta.
- [First US consumer product with Solein (June 2026)](https://solarfoods.com/first-consumer-product-made-with-solein-available-in-the-united-states/): Ambrosia Collective launched Planta, a Solein-based protein powder sold online and on Amazon in the US.
- [US patent for the Solein production process (April 2026)](https://solarfoods.com/solar-foods-receives-patent-in-the-united-states-for-the-production-process-of-solein/): Solar Foods was granted a US patent covering its gas fermentation process for Solein.
- [Factory 02 location: Lappeenranta (December 2025)](https://solarfoods.com/solar-foods-has-chosen-lappeenranta-as-the-location-for-factory-02/): Factory 02 will raise capacity from 160 to 6,400 tons per year, with operations expected in late 2028.
- [Ajinomoto launches Solein pastries in Singapore (December 2025)](https://solarfoods.com/the-japanese-food-company-ajinomoto-launches-solein-powered-pastries-in-singapore/): Ajinomoto Group's Atlr.72 brand launched Mochelie, a mochi-filled almond tart made with Solein.

## Optional
- [News](https://solarfoods.com/news-and-blog/news/): All company news and press releases.
- [Blog](https://solarfoods.com/news-and-blog/blog/): Articles on the science, food system and company.
- [Press releases](https://solarfoods.com/media/press-releases/): Press release archive.
- [Careers](https://solarfoods.com/careers/): Open positions at Solar Foods.
- [Who are the investors of Solar Foods?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/who-are-the-investors-of-solar-foods/): Solar Foods became a public company on 10 September 2024. The largest shareholders are listed on the investor site.
- [What does Solar Foods do?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/what-does-solar-foods-do/): Solar Foods develops protein production by hydrogen fermentation. Its main product is Solein, and it also works on space applications.
- [What makes Solein special?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/what-makes-solein-special/): Solein provides edible calories without photosynthesis, needs no arable land or daylight, and uses water efficiently.
- [What is Solein's chemical composition?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/what-is-soleins-chemical-composition/): Elemental composition of Solein cells (carbon 46%, hydrogen 6.5%, oxygen 25%, nitrogen 12%) and the roughly 20 minerals added in production.
- [Where does the yellow colour come from?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/where-does-the-yellow-colour-come-from/): Solein's yellow colour comes from naturally occurring carotenoids and does not affect flavour.
- [What foods have you cooked with Solein?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/what-foods-have-you-cooked-with-solein/): Test-kitchen dishes (ice cream, ravioli, bao buns) and the five-course Solein menus in Singapore (2023) and New York (2024).
- [Can Solein be produced in large enough quantities?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/can-solein-be-produced-in-large-enough-quantities-to-feed-more-people-globally/): Factory 01's capacity of 160 tons per year, about 8 million meals at 20 g per meal, and the scale-up plan through Factory 02.
- [Can Solein production remove CO2 from the atmosphere?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/can-solein-production-remove-carbon-dioxide-from-the-atmosphere/): Solein is roughly carbon neutral rather than permanent carbon removal, because CO2 returns to the air when the food is eaten. The larger climate benefit comes from farmland that could be freed.
- [Does Solein resolve global environmental problems and hunger?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/does-solein-resolve-global-environmental-problems-and-hunger/): No single product solves the food crisis. The page describes how Solein can contribute by replacing meat and using no arable land.
- [Is Solar Foods' protein production artificial?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/solar-foods-solution-for-protein-production-sounds-artificial-is-it/): Solein is a natural single-cell microbe, not an artificial product.
- [What is Solar Foods doing in space?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/whats-solar-foods-doing-in-space/): Deep Space Food Challenge results (Phase I in 2021, Phase II in 2023, international category win in 2024) and the ESA contract to design subsystems for producing Solein in space.
- [What is Factory 01?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/what-is-factory-01-and-what-makes-it-so-special/): Factory 01 as the first facility able to supply Solein-powered products at a wider scale. It started operating in the first half of 2024.
- [Why build Factory 01 in Finland?](https://solarfoods.com/qa/why-did-you-choose-to-build-factory-01-in-finland/): Finland was chosen for its available green power, a climate that shows year-round production, and the company's familiarity with Finnish regulation.