Solar Foods receives a green label from Nasdaq

Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) has granted Solar Foods the Nasdaq Green Equity Designation – Private Company on 11 April 2024. This is a voluntary designation for companies that have more than 50 percent of the company’s turnover deriving from activities considered green. Turnover derived from fossil fuel activities must be less than 5 percent. In addition, more than 50 percent of the company’s investments must be allocated to activities considered green. A qualitative assessment of the company’s alignment with the Nasdaq Green Equity Principles is done by an approved reviewer.

Nasdaq Green Designations are voluntary designations, open to both private companies and companies listed on the Nasdaq European markets, seeking to amplify transparency around their environmentally conscious business models. The designations support increased visibility toward investors looking for sustainable investments.

Solar Foods becomes the first Finnish private company with this designation

List of companies with the Nasdaq Green Equity Designation are published on Nasdaq’s website, along with the reviewer’s assessment report. Solar Foods becomes the first private Finnish company to receive the designation.

“We are very proud of achieving a Nasdaq Green Designation. It raises the bar for our internal ambition and drives us to develop our green strategy even further. Solar Foods works to transform the food industry and make the foods of the future sustainable. To have Nasdaq recognise our work and business model as green is a great honor for us”, commented Solar Foods CEO and Co-founder Pasi Vainikka.

“The designation is also important to us in terms of transparency: it signals to our stakeholders that Solar Foods has been assessed by an approved reviewer, providing credibility to our green status. A designation like this also allows us to explore the possibility of an IPO at some point in the future, even though that’s just one possible path. Here and now the designation’s significance is in building and validating our sustainability credentials”, Vainikka concludes.

“As part of Nasdaq’s commitment to ESG, and based on the increased demand for sustainable investments, Nasdaq offers Nasdaq Green Designations to support equity issuers and privately owned companies with their green business models and strategies on our European Markets. We are pleased to welcome Solar Foods as the first privately owned Finnish company to receive Nasdaq Green Equity Designation, and we are happy to support them with visibility we can offer on their journey as a Nasdaq Green Designations company”, says Adam Kostyál, Head of European listings, Nasdaq.

Preparing to start commercial production

Solar Foods is currently ramping up the operations of its first large production facility, Factory 01, in Vantaa, Finland. Solar Foods estimates Factory 01 will be able to produce a maximum of 160 tons of the company’s first food product, Solein®, annually.

Solein was granted its first novel food regulatory approval in 2022 in Singapore; Solar Foods has stated its next key target market is the United States, which they aim to enter in late 2024. In addition to the US, the company has applied for regulatory approvals in the EU and the UK.

More information on Nasdaq Green Equity Designation

Solar Foods in brief

• Solar Foods is a food tech company founded in Finland in 2017 with a vision: to create sustainable solutions to the global food crisis. Solar Foods’ first product is Solein®, a food grown out of thin air. Solar Foods is looking to bring the novel protein to consumers’ plates around the world in the coming years.
• Solar Foods received its first novel food approval for Solein in September 2022 in Singapore. Solar Foods has filed for novel food dossier for Solein in the United States, the EU, and the UK. Solar Foods’ aims to enter the US market in late 2024.
• In May 2023, Solar Foods and Singaporean restaurant Fico held the world’s first official tasting of Solein. In June 2023, Fico’s Solein Chocolate Gelato was unveiled for ordinary Singaporean consumers and in January 2024, Finnish food brand Fazer launched a limited-edition Taste the Future snack bar, powered by Solein. Solar Foods also announced a strategic alliance with Japanese food giant Ajinomoto Group to conduct test marketing and product development for Solein-based foods in Singapore and beyond.
• Solar Foods first commercial-scale production facility Factory 01 began operations in H1 2024 in Vantaa, Finland. Factory 01 is Solar Foods’ first Solein plant and is expected to take Solein production to commercial scale. Solar Foods has plans to expand its network of production facilities in the coming years.

Solein in brief

• Solein is a microbial protein-rich powder that contains all the essential amino acids. It can be used to replace existing proteins in a variety of foods, for example in alternative dairy and meat, different snacks and beverages, noodles and pasta, or breads and spreads.
• Solein is produced using a bioprocess where microbes are fed with gases (carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and oxygen) and small amounts of nutrients. The bioprocess resembles winemaking, with carbon dioxide and hydrogen replacing sugar as the source of carbon and energy, respectively.
• Solein is a novel food disconnected from the limits of traditional agriculture. Its production is not reliant on agriculture, weather, or climate: it can be produced in harsh conditions. The process does not require animals or photosynthetic plants, making Solein a sustainable protein. This type of production method has the potential to transform the sustainability, availability, and transparency of what we eat and where food can be produced.
• Solein is 65-70% protein, 5-8% fat, 10-15% dietary fibres and approximately 5% mineral nutrients. The macronutrient composition of Solein cells is very similar to that of dried soy or algae. Solein provides iron and B vitamins and is exceptionally functional. Solein can be used with a wide variety of other ingredients: it vanishes into foods and doesn’t change the taste of familiar, everyday food products.
• Solein will become available for commercial use for the first time. It is aimed at food brands looking for nutritious, functional, and sustainable protein ingredients of consistent quality that can be reliably delivered for their products. Singapore was the first market to grant Solein regulatory approval, but Solar Foods is also seeking authorisations in other markets across the world.

For more information and media inquiries:
Laura Sinisalo
CXO, Solar Foods Ltd.
laura@solarfoods.com
+358 10 579 3285

About Solar Foods

Solar Foods produces protein using carbon dioxide and electricity. Solein® production, independent of weather and climate conditions, liberates global protein production from the constraints of traditional agriculture. Solar Foods was founded in Finland in 2017. solarfoods.com