Standing Ovation, a French player in the food transition, specializing in the manufacture of non-animal caseins from precision fermentation, announced €2 million in funding granted by the State for its “CASPEX” project as part of the call for projects “Agrifood Resilience and Capacity” of the France 2030 Investment Plan operated by Bpifrance as well as a loan called the Green Invest EU Investment Loan of €1 million from Bpifrance.
FrenchTech 2030 winner, Standing Ovation aims to support agri-food manufacturers on the path to more sustainable production and places the circular economy at the heart of its industrial development. The company aims to become a key player in the food transition by developing alternative proteins produced by precision fermentation and thus respond to the challenges of food sovereignty.
The “CASPEX” project aims to develop a line for purifying proteins (caseins) obtained by precision fermentation allowing the first industrial production in the field of ingredients for dairy products. This step is key to supporting the industrialization of the process necessary for the marketing of these ingredients with high nutritional value and high functionality. The State, via France 2030, is providing support to the project in the form of funding of €2 million over 20 months, 60% of which is a grant. This project is fully in line with the objectives set by the France 2030 plan and its desire to innovate for healthy, sustainable and traceable food.
Romain Chayot, President and co-founder of Standing Ovation, said: “Standing Ovation’s innovative approach allows us to contribute to the food transition while significantly reducing the environmental impact of the dairy ingredient industry. The strong support from Bpifrance helps us lead the industrial deployment of the unique process developed by Standing Ovation, an important step before the upcoming commercialization of our ingredients. This funding also marks the commitment of public authorities to prepare the food of the future and ensure food sovereignty.”
Purification is a key step in Standing Ovation’s fermentative casein production process. This purification module will improve the productivity of the process, maximize the use of upstream production tools, and thus reduce downtime of equipment and teams. This will result in an acceleration of production and a reduction in associated costs. This project, which foreshadows a production unit, also secures the technological advance of the company.
Founded in 2020, the company has developed a patented process that makes it possible to produce non-animal caseins through precision fermentation. Caseins are the main proteins in milk and their production by fermentation is a major challenge in the field of alternative proteins. Indeed, fermented caseins, identical to their analogues of animal origin, are the royal road to creating real replicas of dairy products, while retaining their nutritional and taste aspects with a lower environmental impact. By bringing its process to an industrial scale, the French start-up is positioning itself as a key player in the field of precision fermentation.
