Climate technology company Solugen has broken ground on its new biomanufacturing facility, Bioforge Marshall, in Marshall, Minnesota, US. 

The project aims to enhance sustainable solutions and strengthen domestic biomanufacturing.  

The facility is the result of a strategic collaboration with global human and animal nutrition company ADM. 

Spanning 500,000ft^², Bioforge Marshall facility will be located on a 34-acre site next to ADM's corn processing complex.  

ADM Carbohydrate Solutions business unit president and senior vice president Chris Cuddy said: “We are excited to be taking the next step in our partnership with Solugen and to help meet the increasing demand for sustainable products.”  

“Our partnership with Solugen offers another avenue in which ADM can diversify the products made from our corn stream and continue to support plant-based solutions for use in a wide variety of consumer and industrial products.” 

The facility will leverage ADM-sourced dextrose to produce organic acids with low carbon footprints, for water treatment, agriculture, energy, and home and personal care applications.  

Bioforge Marshall's production capacity is expected to reach up to 120 kilo tonnes annually with three modular production lines. 

The process deployed at Bioforge Marshall is anticipated to reduce CO_₂ emissions by about 18 million kilograms each year, compared to traditional petrochemical and fermentation-based methods. 

Solugen co-founder and CTO Sean Hunt said: “Solugen's chemienzymatic technology is a transformative force in sustainable chemical manufacturing.  

“The new facility will significantly increase our existing capabilities, enabling us to expand the market share of low-carbon chemistries.” 

The primary feedstock for the facility will be dextrose, with an estimated annual conversion of 150 million pounds at full capacity.  

The facility will include two pipelines for dextrose that will connect directly to the adjacent ADM plant, thereby enhancing production efficiency and reducing transport-related costs and emissions. 

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has supported the project with financial incentives amounting to $760,000 through its Job Creation Fund.  

During the construction phase, the facility is expected to employ up to 100 temporary workers.  

Once operational, it is anticipated to create more than 50 manufacturing jobs.  

The Bioforge Marshall facility is expected to commence operations in the Autumn of 2025.