Israel Investing 50 Million Shekels In FoodTech Fermentation

The Israel Innovation Authority will invest up to 50 million shekels in fermentation infrastructure to serve local food tech companies that make alternative protein products.

It has selected fermenter company YDLabs to establish a facility to provide fermentation services – chemical processes caused by organisms like bacteria, yeasts and fungi – for startups whose products range from 10 liters to 20,000 liters in volume.

Fermentation technology can be used to create plant-based meat and dairy substitutes, cultured meat and dairy substitutes, and proteins and other components derived from microorganisms (through fermentation). 

The new facility and its specialist staff will allow companies in Israel and around the world to carry out the fermentation process at various volumes, conduct economic feasibility experiments, and produce small-scale batches for potential customers. 

“We are pleased to confirm the selection of YDLabs and look forward to seeing the Israeli ecosystem benefit from infrastructure and services provided for scaling production to enable  economic feasibility assessment, regulatory preparedness, and more,” said Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority.

“Israel has identified the FoodTech field as one of the areas to prioritize. Currently, due to the lack of infrastructure and workforce, many ventures turn to service providers abroad, which leads to early knowledge leakage and advancements in regulatory frameworks tailored for other countries. With this initiative, we aim to change that as soon as possible.”