Norelco enables sustainable food production: power distribution system for Enifer’s unique mushroom protein factory

The high-quality and energy-efficient switchgears supplied by Norelco are vital in ensuring the stability and reliability of the factory’s demanding production process.

“We at Norelco are extremely proud to be involved in this groundbreaking project. Enifer’s innovation directly addresses one of the world’s greatest challenges, which is sustainable protein production,” says Ari Hämäläinen, CEO of Norelco.

"The biotechnology represented by Enifer is at the forefront of Finnish engineering expertise. Such a sensitive and continuous PEKILO® process requires complete reliability from the electricity distribution and property management to operate. Our role is to ensure that the factory has a stable and uninterrupted foundation on which production is built. We do not just deliver switchgears , but the security of supply that an innovation like Enifer deserves," Hämäläinen describes.

A sustainable solution to a global challenge

Enifer's unique project has also received extensive financial support, including from the Climate Fund, which saw technology as a significant part of the solution to the climate challenge.

"The world's population and the need for protein are constantly growing. Food production is a central part of the climate challenge, and it has not yet been solved. In the future, sustainable food production will be based on several different solutions. Enifer's technology is interesting, because nutrients from several different side streams can be converted into higher-value products and their processing value can be increased instead of using energy," the Climate Fund said after the positive funding decision.

Finnish innovation is reviving

Enifer's production is based on the updated PEKILO® process, which Finnish forest industry engineers developed back in the 1970s for processing side streams into feed. Enifer has further developed the process so that it can produce high-quality, food-grade PEKILO® mushroom protein, or mycoprotein.

"We are really excited about our first factory. For over fifty years, Kantvik has been at the heart of the Finnish bioindustry. We couldn't imagine a better place to revive the production of PEKILO® mushroom protein. Mushroom protein is the missing piece in the sustainable food chain," says Simo Ellilä, CEO and founding member of Enifer.

The factory, estimated to be completed in 2025, will be able to produce 3,000 tons of mushroom protein annually. Production will start at full capacity in 2026, when it will produce 500 kilograms of mushroom protein per hour, and the company also aims to bring the product to the consumer market by then.