A factory within our factory

➔ MicroHarvest

We’re talking about MicroHarvest, a biotech German startup working on developing the protein of the future. Through biomass fermentation of bacteria, in 24 hours they go from raw materials to the production of protein.

We talked to Catarina Ribeiro, Founder Associate at MicroHarvest, as she explains why we need this: “By 2050 the protein demand is expected to double because of growth of population and wealth. At the moment, one third of CO2 emissions in the world comes from the food value chain. So an increase in protein demand leads to more CO2 emissions. That’s not sustainable, especially as the population grows”.

Slip it to the fishes

The world already has access to alternative protein sources, such as soy, fungi, insects, algae, etc. So what’s new? “We know there are alternatives, but none can produce at a scale and as quick as the world needs it. We believe ours is more economically viable and, especially, faster. Soy needs three months, for example. We use less water, less electricity and less space for a higher protein content. We don’t need soil and we can produce 24/7. We are trying to give the world a viable solution”, Catarina tells us.

The idea is not only to give humans a choice. The first sales, which will happen early 2024, will go towards feeding fish in aquaculture.

“Eighteen million tons of fish are used every year to feed other fish. From aquaculture to pet food, we want to have an impact on the whole food value chain, not just directly on what humans eat”. Ultimately, MicroHarvest will work its way up to human food. Being a B2B business, their targets are the manufacturing and distributing companies of fast moving consumer goods, such as Unilever, Pepsico or Nestlé, who can start testing and introducing the protein in new products.

This market will bring different challenges around regulatory compliance. Putting something out there that people will ingest requires a lot of validation tests.

Another interesting challenge is to create awareness about their product. “People hear bacteria and don’t think of food. But bacteria is everywhere, it's in yogurt and fermented foods. And once you feed it, it can grow at an exponential rate. We want to ensure people that this a normal and safe food ingredient”.

A Dutch, a German, and a Portuguese walk into a startup

MicroHarvest was founded in Hamburg in 2021 by Katelijne Bekers, a Dutch scientist with an MBA, currently CEO of the company. She brought in a colleague and good friend as a co-founder, the Portuguese Luisa Cruz, another scientist, now the CTO in charge of R&D. Both had previous experience in B2B biotech businesses. The third co-founder, German entrepreneur Jonathan Roberz with a past in Engineering and the automation industry, is now COO and Managing Director.

Less than two years later, a subsidiary company was founded in Portugal, “partly because there’s a lot of untapped biotech talent”, Catarina tells us. Today MicroHarvest employs 26 people and 14 of them are in Lisbon. “Positions include an R&D Project Manager, Talent Acquisition Manager, Applications Specialist, Pilot Process Technologist, Microbiologists and one Impact Analyst, who make sure we are hitting all the impact goals we want to hit, like how much electricity we use compared to other alternatives. We also have a lot of Masters’ students doing internships, both in Hamburg and in Lisbon, in Marketing but mainly in R&D. We believe it's super important to give students an opportunity to have a hands on experience and we also really benefit from having their skills and knowledge on the team”.

Moving forward, the plan is to scale the operation in a very decentralized structure, with local factories around the world, closer to the consumers, rather than one big factory per continent.

Decentralized production will allow us to use local resources and make supply chain logistics more sustainable.

Being a CAPEX intensive business, there’s a lot of money to raise. According to Catarina, “one of the challenges is to be mindful of the funding runway. We just raised 10 million euros with a series A and a post-round, to build our prototypes and start going to market”.

Embassies like startups

Catarina is based in Lisbon and was brought in as Founder Associate.”This means I work with the 3 founders to execute a wide variety of projects. In early 2023 I was setting up the office and our pilot lab at Factory Lisbon. At the moment I’m organizing the Finance Department in Lisbon to handle all invoices and payments. I’m also focused on building the right organizational culture, working with HR and Talent Acquisition. We just had all the team from Hamburg come to Lisbon for the inauguration of our Lab and we spent some good times together. There’s also work around Marketing and merchandise… it really is a bit of everything. No day is the same for me at MicroHarvest! I have to be accountable and work with the team”.

It’s no wonder Catarina thrives on such a diverse job. Born in Portugal to a Diplomat mum, she traveled a lot as a child, being exposed to international schools and different cultures. Following maternal footsteps, she worked in the Portuguese Embassy in Copenhagen for a year. “I would say Portuguese embassies are very much like small startups around the world, in the sense that there are not a lot of people or resources and there’s a lot to be done. So you’re involved in everything from day one”, Catarina recalls.

Upon returning to Portugal, she worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a technical advisor, for a few years. “I look back and I was involved in so many amazing things, like bringing Afghan refugees to Portugal when Kabul fell. We could see the impact of our jobs on every moment, and that’s the experience I’m most grateful for having had. I learned so much. But I realized I didn’t want to pursue a diplomatic career anymore”.

Still, how do you end up working closely with the management team of a biotech startup? “I had worked for a startup before and had really enjoyed it. So I started looking for opportunities and this role came up. I read it and I thought: this is me from start to finish. That, topped with me being passionate about the company’s cause and being concerned about the environment and climate change, was a great combination. So I met with the Founders and it’s been a year now”, she adds.

Food used to be manufactured here

According to Catarina, Beato was the only place in town where MicroHarvest could fit both an office and a pilot lab. “We were grateful that Factory was so available to have us, knowing we would need to change a few aspects of the building. It also means a lot to us that there’s a link with the past, they used to make cookies and pasta here. We really wanted a place where our clients could visit, get to know us, see our lab, see the product”.

MicroHarvest plans to welcome not just clients, but also schools. “Sometimes people think biotech scientists work in a far-fetched reality. We would like to help young people widen their horizons and show them what’s achievable. Our team has been doing activities with schools and asking the Junta de Freguesia do Beato how we can collaborate, because it’s something we really want to do”, we hear.

Ever since they moved in, there’s been a shared belief on long term effects that Hub Criativo do Beato and Factory Lisbon can have in the surrounding community, but also in the city as whole.

As Catarina tells us, she’s been here for almost a year and she sees its importance for the community: “this area has quite a lot of needs and we’re really looking forward to seeing that change. It would mean so much for these people. Manutenção Militar used to be huge, employing around 11.000 people, and not much attention has been given to it for years. It’s really important for them to see some investment from the Council in this area”.