Protealis

This interview details Protealis, an indoor farming company based in Belgium. The interview is with Benjamin Laga, CEO of Protealis.

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What is the origin story of Protealis?

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Protealis was established in March 2021, leveraging pre-existing research from institutes, VIB and ILVO, who sought to capitalize on a near-commercial breeding program and microbial research for soybean. When I heard about the idea, I was keen to lead this towards a start-up company as it aligned my entrepreneurial aspirations with the desire to contribute to a more sustainable agriculture. From a business perspective, we saw an opportunity in the convergence of some global trends: a growing demand for sustainable farming, a geopolitical shift highlighting Europe's dependence on protein imports, and the growth of plant-based foods.

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Despite such trends, the adoption of protein crops by farmers in Europe is low because of profitability at farm level compared to other crop choices. This is why we incorporate cutting-edge technology to accelerate breeding processes and render these crops more profitable. As an example, our use of speed-breeding slashes time-to-market by three years compared to conventional breeding programs.

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Now, two and a half years later we have our inaugural soybean varieties on the market and have created an IP position in the field of microbial nitrogen fixation. These proprietary yield-enhancing soil bacteria, enable crops to flourish in the colder climate of northern Europe.

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Protealis is dedicated to pioneering sustainable and technologically advanced solutions that not only meet the market demand for plant-based foods but also address the pressing challenges associated with protein crop production and global sustainability.

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What is unique about Protealis compared to competitors?

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Our distinctiveness is rooted in our dedicated focus on plant protein crops and the integration of highly innovative breeding technologies. For example, we have fully embraced speed breeding in all our breeding programs since the conclusion of 2022. This cutting-edge technique significantly compresses the breeding cycle, resulting in a reduction of the breeding cycle by a minimum of three years. In conjunction with speed breeding, we have pioneered a proprietary approach that seamlessly blends genetics, artificial intelligence, automated field data collection, and remote sensing. This holistic strategy aims to maximize genetic gain per breeding cycle and optimize the utilization of available throughput capacity. These technologies empower us to substantially speed up the introduction of novel and improved seed varieties to the market. This agility enables us to meet the escalating market demand and address the urgent need for economically and ecologically sustainable farming options.

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We diverge from competitors that focus on fortifying their positions in existing large crop markets. Our vision is to secure a leading position in a budding local, sustainable plant protein market as it develops to maturity. This forward-thinking strategy sets us apart from competitors.

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Protealis in the future?

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Our innovative seed breeding and seed technologies approach means we must create the market. Our competition is hence not with other soybean breeders, but we have to compete with other crop choices a farmer has for the same use of land. This means we also must convince farmers to try something new, in a domain where they currently have no agronomic expertise. So, education is absolutely essential. 

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The evolving value chains, though progressing rapidly, underscore the ongoing development within the market. The trajectory of market evolution will ultimately shape the pace of our journey toward profitability. While the long-term viability of the trends we address remains steadfast, the current geopolitical instability injects volatility and unpredictability into commodity prices for various crops. Farmers, base their crop decisions on anticipated profits in this dynamic landscape. Fortunately, our journey is bolstered by the absence of challenges in capital acquisition and staff recruitment—a common struggle in today's landscape. I attribute this success to our strong alignment with a mission that mirrors enduring global trends. In a time when individuals increasingly seek purpose in their professional endeavors, our commitment to a meaningful cause resonates, attracting talent and support. This provides a solid foundation for our continued growth and success.

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What is the current size of your growing area?

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We have two growth rooms side-by-side so we can independently grow 2 different crops at any time as every crop requires its own recipe. By making use of a vertical farming setup, we reduce the footprint by 50% as we have a two-layer setup. We can’t go to a three or more-layer setup as we have to grow plants to maturity so the height of a fully grown plant dictates the space between two layers. Nevertheless, a vertical setup does make sense in terms of reduction of operating cost, especially for electricity (thinking about for example lighting plan or temperature control).

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Do you use CO2 in your operation today -- if so, how much and what do you pay for it? What are your thoughts in CO2 usage in indoor farms?

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Protealis doesn’t add any CO2 to our vertical farm operations today. Unlike production facilities that focus on biomass production, we use our vertical farm to quickly get from seed to seed in our breeding activities. This requires triggering flowering and ripening by making use of the right recipe of light (quality, daylength, intensity), day/night temperature, and water and nutrient flows. As we focus on sustainability and lowering carbon footprint we try to avoid the use of CO2, though I fully respect that this is easier in our application that doesn’t require a lot of vegetative development.

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Energy is a big topic in indoor farming right now. How much do you pay for electricity (kWh)? Is it mainly from the grid or renewables?

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The surge in energy prices was an unwelcome surprise to us, as for anyone in vertical farming. We suffer less from it as the speed breeding where we use the installation for only represents a fraction of the total breeding costs. Material that comes out of the speed breeding installation and tests positive in the field, will be multiplied in the field for several rounds before it becomes a product. This means the cost of speed breeding is diluted a lot in our final cost-of-goods.

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As we focus on enabling more sustainable agriculture, it’s important we walk the talk, so we opted for 100% renewable energy throughout the company, including for our vertical farming operations. Despite trying to make the installation as energy efficient as possible by using LED lighting and a lighting plan to minimize energy loss as redundant heat, we unfortunately don’t have the surface to be self-sustainable in our energy supply for the speed breeding facility, so we buy green energy from the grid to accommodate for the difference. Although we initially didn’t plan for it, the surge in prices triggered for us an extra investment in an industrial high-voltage cabin so we could get better grid prices. It was an extra 60K investment but should pay off over time.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Protealis?

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Everyone that wants to learn more about Protealis, can visit our website www.protealis.com or check our LinkedIn or Facebook pages.

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