Skretting signs letter of intent with Unibio to begin testing Uniprotein
As a result of participating in the FEED-X program, Unibio has engaged with Skretting – one of the world’s largest suppliers of feed for aquaculture production and a founding member of FEED-X. Skretting has signed a Letter of Intent with Unibio and will begin testing Uniprotein as a feed ingredient for fish and shrimp feed. The Letter of Intent indicates Skretting’s willingness to purchase thousands of tons of Uniprotein if the testing goes according to expectations.
Unibio and its partners would need to invest millions of dollars to build the production capacity needed to realize the ambitions of the potential collaboration, and the potential revenue generation will be counted in hundreds of millions of dollars in the years to come.
Sustainable organic protein
Uniprotein is produced based on fermentation of a microbial culture using methane as feedstock. It is an organic product and can easily be produced in very large scale. The ambition is to utilize methane, which would otherwise be wasted or put to use in less efficient processes. The quality of Uniprotein is high, and it can easily replace high-value proteins like super-prime fishmeal and highly concentrated soy products. However, with Uniprotein, the oceans will not be overfished, rainforest will not be cleared, and the methane can be used for something useful.
Robert van den Breemer, procurement director at Skretting, states: “The available volumes, start-up stage product pricing and low value-chain commitment of alternative ingredients today remain a limitation towards meeting the needs to the aquaculture industry in the future. We believe that our commitment with Unibio brings us another step closer towards ensuring the sustainable future of the aquaculture industry and fulfilling Skretting’s mission of ‘Feeding the Future’.”
Henrik Busch-Larsen, Unibio CEO: “In a future where we have to reduce the global environmental footprint of feed production significantly, we believe that Unibio delivers a game-changing technology. Imagine applying the global abundance of methane to produce an almost unlimited supply of protein. No need to add additional stress to the world’s oceans or agricultural systems. No need to clear more rainforest. This is the opportunity presented by the Unibio technology, which, by the way, is one of the few new protein technologies having made it to full scale.”
Henrik Busch-Larsen continues: “The collaboration with Skretting holds big potential for Unibio in terms of taking us to the next level of becoming a significant worldwide supplier of low-footprint and environmentally friendly protein”.
