Molecular farming company PoLoPo has completed the design phase for its first pilot production facility to extract and dry functional proteins from its genetically engineered high-protein potatoes.

The announcement comes after a successful five-tonne harvest, marking the first time a company has grown and harvested transgenic potatoes at this scale for the purpose of functional protein extraction.

The planned facility is projected to cost less than $1 million to fully equip. It will include machinery for potato cleaning and crushing, as well as functional protein purification and spray-drying machines. Because these proteins can be extracted and dried on standard food processing equipment already in use across the world, there are no additional facility costs.

PoLoPo was founded in 2022 in Israel. Since its inception, it has raised $2.3 million from food-tech investors including FoodLabs, Milk & Honey Ventures, CPT Capital, Siddhi Capital, Plug and Play, and Hack Capital.

The company uses proprietary metabolic engineering techniques to turn potato plants into micro-biofactories. Potato plants manufacture and store the target proteins in the tuber. Tubers are harvested when they reach a sufficient size, then their proteins are extracted and dried into a functional protein powder that can integrate seamlessly into current food processing lines and formulations.

The pilot facility was designed with the help of NIRAS, a global engineering consultancy firm based in Denmark and specialising in infrastructure, green energy and sustainable development.

Tom Britton, NIRAS project manager, said: “PoLoPo’s pilot facility design strikes the right balance between cost-efficiency and functionality, ensuring a scalable and capital-conscious approach. Additionally, the facility’s design and process take into account industrial machinery requirements, allowing for future growth and seamless scale-up.”

Should the pilot-scale plant prove successful, the nature of the design allows for it to be reused as is or slightly adapted for future plants in other regions.

“Having the design plans for our first facility positions us to begin construction as soon as we’re able, and although this phase was completed ahead of schedule, we’re confident we will not wait long to move forward,” said PoLoPo’s CEO, Maya Sapir-Mir.

PoLoPo has not yet confirmed a construction timeline.