{"id":188772,"date":"2025-04-16T22:04:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T22:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/agriculture\/liberation-labs-heads-to-saudi-arabia-as-nif-explores-bioproducts\/"},"modified":"2025-04-16T22:04:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T22:04:58","slug":"liberation-labs-heads-to-saudi-arabia-as-nif-explores-bioproducts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=188772","title":{"rendered":"Liberation Labs heads to Saudi Arabia as NIF explores bioproducts"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Liberation Labs<\/a>, a US startup building biomanufacturing capacity for a new generation of bioproducts from animal-free whey to egg proteins, has struck a deal with NEOM Investment Fund<\/a> (NIF) to build a precision fermentation facility in Saudi Arabia as food security moves up the kingdom\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n

NIF\u2014which invested in Liberation Labs earlier this year<\/a>\u2014is the strategic investment arm of NEOM<\/a>, a futuristic giga-project in Saudi Arabia backed by the government\u2019s Public Investment Fund.<\/p>\n

The new bioproduction facility, which is likely to mirror a site Liberation Labs is currently building in Richmond, Indiana, will be designed and developed in collaboration with Topian<\/a>, a food company created by NEOM in 2023 designed to \u201cfuture proof\u201d the country\u2019s food system.<\/p>\n

With 80% of its food coming in from overseas<\/a> and much of its land unsuited to agriculture<\/a>, Saudi Arabia is looking seriously at biomanufacturing along with indoor farming and other methods of producing food domestically, Liberation Labs CEO Mark Warner told AgFunderNews<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a lot of countries, they want more products made in-country, or at least in-region. So Topian may have some products [it will produce at the site] although there are likely to also be more traditional, large CPGs that may be some of the key off takers. We\u2019ve had a lot of interest, including from some of the big CPGs, who are intrigued about having a local food source.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saudi site would mirror site in Richmond, Indiana<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Asked about timing, he said: \u201cI don\u2019t think the build would be materially different from the Richmond site [a 600,000-L facility that could scale up to 4-million-liters], so I think a facility in Saudi Arabia could be built in a couple years [following a 6\u201312-month feasibility study].\u201d<\/p>\n

As for inputs for the site, he said: \u201cThere are sugar supplies that are generated in the kingdom although they also import a lot of sugar, so it\u2019s readily available. Obviously, water is more expensive, so we\u2019re going to need to localize, optimize more for water, and make some changes in the design.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as far as access to what we need to build it, the last facility I built before Liberation Labs was a $200 million site in rural Brazil, and this [facility in Saudi Arabia] is likely to be so much easier. There\u2019s obviously a lot of energy going to other industries, so when it comes to getting big contractors, piping, equipment, all of that, we\u2019re very confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feasibility study<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The ingredients likely to be produced in bioreactors at the site will depend on the feasibility study, he said. \u201cHowever, the assumption is that it will be similar to Richmond, where we can [use microbial fermentation to] make dairy proteins such as whey and casein, egg proteins, higher-value ingredients for infant formula such as lactoferrin and HMOs, but also biomaterials and intermediates for the pharmaceutical industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for funding the facility, he said, \u201cThe agreement we have signed is to do a feasibility study, but obviously, part of the reason we partnered with NIF is they have the ability to bring capital to the table, although there is no firm commitment at this point. Generally sovereign wealth likes to be involved in these kinds of assets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liberation Labs\u2019 role going forward will depend on the feasibility study, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s most likely, if we help them design it and build it, that we would probably be an operating partner. But again, I want to be clear, we don\u2019t have a firm agreement at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global ambitions<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The 600,000-L fermentation capacity initial phase of Liberation Labs\u2019 Richmond, Indiana, facility is set to be completed by the end of the year, says the firm, which has letters of intent representing over 200% of the available capacity for the first five years of operations.<\/p>\n

The company\u2014which has raised around $125 million in equity and non-dilutive funding to date\u2014has also received a $1.39 million award from the US Department of Defense to conduct a feasibility study (to be completed this fall) to expand the Richmond site to a 4-million- liter facility, said Warner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re actively working on the projects in Richmond and Saudi Arabia, but we also have an eye on Australia as our third location. That\u2019s always been our main focus, to build multiple sites in multiple geographies, in part because big companies don\u2019t want to launch a brand that\u2019s got a key ingredient that only one facility can make.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Liberation Labs, a US startup building biomanufacturing capacity for a new generation of bioproducts from animal-free whey to egg proteins, has struck a deal with NEOM Investment Fund (NIF) to build a precision fermentation facility in Saudi Arabia as food security moves up the kingdom\u2019s agenda. NIF\u2014which invested in Liberation Labs earlier this year\u2014is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":188773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12026],"tags":[19200,72457,73864,14829,2559,8035,28668,73863,19199],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-188772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","tag-arabia","tag-biomanufacturing","tag-bioproducts","tag-explores","tag-heads","tag-labs","tag-liberation","tag-nif","tag-saudi"],"yoast_head":"\nLiberation Labs heads to Saudi Arabia as NIF explores bioproducts - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=188772\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Liberation Labs heads to Saudi Arabia as NIF explores bioproducts - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Liberation Labs, a US startup building biomanufacturing capacity for a new generation of bioproducts from animal-free whey to egg proteins, has struck a deal with NEOM Investment Fund (NIF) to build a precision fermentation facility in Saudi Arabia as food security moves up the kingdom\u2019s agenda. 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