Solar Foods Oyj, press release 10 September, 2024 at 11:30 EEST

Solar Foods has listed its shares on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, IN PART OR IN WHOLE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, SINGAPORE, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER STATE OR TERRITORY IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

The Finnish protein production revolutioniser Solar Foods Oyj has listed its shares on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. Trading in the company’s shares commenced on Tuesday 10 September at 10 EEST under the ticker symbol SFOODS.

The purpose of the listing of Solar Foods is to enable the company to grow its business to a global scale. The company aims to implement a growth strategy that includes scaling of production technology, launching factory projects based on it, introducing new production organisms and products to the market, and strategic acquisitions to accelerate technology development.

Solar Foods’ business model is to produce new food raw materials for the global market using both existing and new microbial strains under development. This requires investments in R&D, sales and marketing, as well as in the production capacity of the company’s first product Solein®. Solar Foods has already scaled its production technology to demonstration scale at Factory 01, which started operations at the beginning of 2024. The company also has the potential to license both hydrogen fermentation technology and production organisms for the food industry.

“The listing enables us to grow our business to the next level, towards global scaling and commercialization of production. Our production facility Factory 01 has target capacity of producing 160 tonnes of Solein annually. We are already planning our next production facility, Factory 02, which will have a capacity 50-100 times larger. This facility will have a profitable production scale”, says Pasi Vainikka, the CEO of Solar Foods.

Solar Foods expects that investment decisions about Factory 02 will be made in 2026.

Towards the United States

Solar Foods is a global leader in sustainable protein production, solving the global food production problem by offering a completely new alternative to existing animal and plant proteins. Solein, produced by Solar Foods, is an all-purpose protein grown with the air we breathe: The unique bioprocess takes a single microbe, one of the billion different ones found in nature, and grows it by fermenting it using air and electricity. Solein is a novel food that requires regulatory approval before it can be sold and used in foods.

In the beginning of September, Solein obtained the so-called independent conclusion of GRAS status (Generally Recognised as Safe) also referred to as self-affirmed GRAS status in the United States. Solar Foods estimates sales could start in the United States by the end of this year.

Solein has already received a novel food regulatory approval in Singapore in September 2022. The company has also filed for novel food regulatory approvals for Solein in the European Union and in the United Kingdom.

Alongside the food approval processes, Solar Foods is preparing strategic launch and partnership agreements with major food and biotechnology companies. The aim is to develop Solein products together with customers and commercialise them in different markets.

Additional information:

CXO Laura Sinisalo, laura@solarfoods.com, tel. +358 10 579 3285

Images for editorial use: www.solarfoods.com/media

Solein is an all-purpose protein grown with the air we breathe: The unique bioprocess takes a single microbe, one of the billion different ones found in nature, and grows it by fermenting it using air and electricity. Solein is a nutritionally rich and versatile ingredient which can replace protein virtually in any food. Solein can also be used as a fortifier to complement the nutritional profile of various foods: it can be a source of iron, fiber and B vitamins, and it can also bring different techno-functionalities into food products. www.solein.com.

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. The company is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. Carnegie Investment Bank AB is the company’s Certified Adviser. www.solarfoods.com

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The distribution of this press release may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions and persons into whose possession any document or other information referred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This press release is not made, and no copies of this press release may be distributed or transmitted in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Singapore or New Zealand, or to any other country or territory where publication or distribution would be illegal. The Company or its Certified Advisor shall not be liable if such restrictions are violated by any person.

The listing of the Company i.e. applying Company’s shares for admittance to trading on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland -marketplace, maintained by Nasdaq Helsinki Oy discussed in this press release was carried out as a direct listing, and no share issue or sale was organized in connection with it.

This press release should not be interpreted as an offer to sell or subscribe or a solicitation to buy or subscribe for the Company's securities, and no securities will be sold in areas where the offering, purchase or sale of the securities in question would be illegal prior to their registration or an exception to the registration obligation or other approval in accordance with the securities laws of the respective areas. Investors should not purchase securities referred to in this press release based on this press release. Investors should familiarize themselves with the information contained in the company description that the Company within permitted territories published or distributed for the purpose of listing in accordance with the rules of the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. This press release is not a company description according to the rules of the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland.

This press release is not an offer to sell securities in the United States, and the securities may not be offered or sold in the United States unless they have been registered in accordance with the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations issued thereunder, or unless there is an exemption from the registration requirement. The Company does not intend to register any securities in the United States or offer the securities to the public in the United States. In any member state of the European Economic Area that has implemented Regulation (EU) No. 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prospectus to be published in connection with the offering of securities to the public or admission to trading on a regulated market and repealing Directive 2003/71/EC ("Prospectus Regulation"), no measures have been taken and will not be taken to offer securities to the public in such a way that it would require the publication of the prospectus referred to in the Prospectus Regulation. In this paragraph, the expression "offering securities to the public" means communication directed at individuals in any form and through any channel, which provides sufficient information about the terms of the offer and the securities offered, so that the investor can make a decision about buying or subscribing to these securities. This press release is neither an offer of securities to the public in the United Kingdom in respect of the securities referred to in this press release. No prospectus has been or will be accepted in the United Kingdom.

The contents of this press release have been prepared by, and are the sole responsibility of, the Company. The information contained in this press release may change.

Forward-looking statements

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “estimate”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “aim” or “might”, or, in each case, their negative, or similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that they will materialise or prove to be correct. Because these forward-looking statements are based on assumptions or estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties, the actual results or outcome could differ materially from those set out in the forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. The Company does not guarantee that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this press release are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this press release or any obligation to update or revise the statements in this press release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this press release. The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as at its date and are subject to change without notice. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review, update, confirm or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise in relation to the content of this press release.