Solar Foods has chosen a site in Selkäharju, Lappeenranta, Finland as the location of Factory 02, the company’s future production facility. 

Factory 02 will be the company’s first industrial-scale production facility, and it will increase the production capacity of protein ingredient Solein from Factory 01’s 160 tons annually to 6,400 tons annually. The final investment decision for the construction of Factory 02 is expected to be made during 2026. 

Solar Foods has been looking for possible locations for the future production facility Factory 02 both in Finland and abroad, and as the result of its evaluation, the company has chosen Lappeenranta. The chosen site in Selkäharju offers electricity supply opportunities and possibilities to integrate into the city’s district heating network. The location decision was also influenced by, among other things, the price of renewable energy and the reliability of the infrastructure; water and wastewater infrastructure and the constructability of the site; permit processes; possibilities for creating an ecosystem with strategic partners and different stakeholders; the availability of relevant experts and workforce; and financing opportunities.

“We had several excellent location options for Factory 02,” says Tiia Kuusimäki, chief operating officer at Solar Foods. “We chose the site in Lappeenranta, Finland, because at this stage, it provides Solar Foods with the best conditions to proceed with the design and construction of the production facility according to our plans. We will also continue exploring other possible locations for other future Solein production facilities.”

In 2025, Solar Foods signed Memorandum of Understandings and Letters of Intent with four international customers regarding a commercialization plan for a total annual production of 6,500–7,650 tons of Solein. Should these agreements lead to a binding agreement, the total volume commitment would correspond to approximately 100–120% of the full 6.4 kiloton production capacity of Factory 02. 

In addition to Factory 02, Solar Foods is planning an international network of Solein production facilities around the world. The company sees opportunities for future factory projects in the Nordics, the United States, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, among other regions.

"Solein's production is not dependent on land use, weather or climate, and we can produce it every day of the year anywhere on Earth – even in areas where food production is typically difficult or even impossible," Kuusimäki says.

Solar Foods has decided to proceed with the engineering and implementation of Factory 02 with a network of strategic partners. This allows the company to focus on developing its core technology – gas fermentation – and related biology, as well as on the global commercialization of Solein. The company aims to select two to three strategic partners who would be responsible for Factory 02’s real estate, hydrogen production, electricity grids, and cooling and heating capacity. Solar Foods says utilizing strategic partners would reduce the company's financing needs for the implementation of Factory 02 and potentially other future production facilities.

The construction of Factory 02 is planned to be carried out in phases. The design capacity of the first phase is 3.2 kilotons per year, and it’s expected to be operational at the end of 2028. The following year, the production plant is planned to be expanded in a second phase to a design capacity of 6.4 annual kilotons. The site in Selkäharju also allows for the construction of a third phase, which would expand the design capacity to 12.8 kilotons per year. The presented production volumes are based on already achieved production parameters.

Solar Foods plans to apply for funding from Business Finland for projects that promote the development of low-carbon hydrogen production and storage, as well as carbon capture and utilization regarding an IPCEI notification (Important Projects of Common European Interest) granted by the European Commission. The maximum amount of the notified IPCEI grant to Solar Foods is approximately €110 million, of which the remaining funding according to the notification is approximately €66 million. It is intended to partially cover the construction costs of Factory 02, and the company does not have a funding decision on it yet.