Solar Foods Oyj, press release 30 April 2026 at 10:00 EEST
Solar Foods joins the EU-funded BalticSeaH2 hydrogen economy project
BalticSeaH2 creates a large-scale, cross-border hydrogen valley around the Baltic Sea, and it enables over 20 use cases to showcase the diverse applications of hydrogen across multiple sectors. In the project, Solar Foods focuses on hydrogen in protein production, and the company has received funding of EUR 350 000 for further developing the production of Solein® as one of the use cases in hydrogen economy. Solein's production uses hydrogen and carbon dioxide as its main raw materials.
BalticSeaH2 builds the largest cross-border hydrogen valley in Europe. The project aims to revolutionise the energy landscape, fostering self-sufficiency and minimizing carbon emissions in various industries. Over 20 use cases showcase the different sectors of hydrogen economy in practice throughout the value chain.
In the project, Solar Foods demonstrates an industrial hydrogen use case in protein production, and the company has received EUR 350 000 funding for increasing its Solein production capacity further at the Factory 01 production facility. Global leader in sustainable protein production, Solar Foods produces Solein, a versatile and nutritious protein ingredient for the food industry. Solein is produced through gas fermentation, a groundbreaking production method which uses hydrogen and carbon dioxide as its main raw materials.
"We are excited to join BalticSeaH2 and be a part of developing different value chains and sector integration in the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen is one of the main raw materials in our production, and we are very proud to be the global frontrunners in bringing the hydrogen economy also to the food industry and protein production", says Petri Tervasmäki, Chief Technical Officer of Solar Foods.
The five-year BalticSeaH2 project started in June 2023. With a consortium of 40 partners from nine Baltic Sea area countries, BalticSeaH2 strives to build an integrated, interregional hydrogen economy on an unprecedented scale in Europe. The total volume of the project is EUR 33 million, with EUR 25 million funding from the EU. Clean Hydrogen Partnership supports European hydrogen valley projects with RePowerEU funding from the commission.
Strategic partners for hydrogen production
At Solar Foods' Factory 01, hydrogen is produced in an electrolyzer by splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen using renewable electricity. The company is currently planning its next production facility, Factory 02, which will scale Solein's production capacity from Factory 01's 160 tons to 6,400 tons annually.
The production facility will be implemented together with strategic partners, who will be responsible for among other things the hydrogen production of Factory 02, allowing Solar Foods to focus more strongly on developing its core technology of gas fermentation and related biology, as well as on the global commercialisation of Solein.
In addition to BalticSeaH2, Solar Foods is also part of the next-generation hydrogen technology development ecosystem H2 Springboard.
Additional information:
Petri Tervasmäki, Chief Technology Officer, petri.tervasmaki@solarfoods.com, tel. +358 10 592 3870
Images for editorial use: www.solarfoods.com/media
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What is Solein?
Solein is an all-purpose protein grown with the air we breathe: The unique bioprocess takes a single microbe, one of the billion different ones found in nature, and grows it by fermenting it using air and electricity. Solein is a nutritionally rich and versatile ingredient which can replace protein virtually in any food. Solein can also be used as a fortifier to complement the nutritional profile of various foods: it can be a source of iron, fibre and B vitamins, and it can also bring different techno-functionalities into food products. Learn more at www.solein.com.
About Solar Foods
Solar Foods produces Solein®, a protein created using carbon dioxide and electricity. This innovative production method is independent of weather and climate conditions, eliminating the need for traditional agriculture. Founded in Finland in 2017, Solar Foods is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. Learn more at solarfoods.com and investors.solarfoods.com
