Arkeon Biotechnologies

Founded in 2021, Arkeon Biotechnologies is an Austrian sustainable ingredients company that converts carbon dioxide into customizable functional proteins (including 20 essential amino acids). The protein production is a one-step fermentation process using the microorganism Archaea. Currently, Arkeon develops peptides, amino acids, and single-cell proteins, which can be used as clean-label ingredients for products including plant-based foods, nutrition products, and cultivated meat. In July 2023 , the company unveiled its 150L pilot production plant in Vienna's Seestadt Innovation Hub to convert carbon dioxide into functional protein ingredients using a capital investment of EUR 10 million (~USD 11 million). The next phase slated for the end of 2024, will include the installation of a demo facility with 3,000L bioreactor systems.

Arkeon claims that its protein production is carbon negative and requires 99% less land and only 0.01% of the water required by conventional proteins. 

Key customers and partnerships

In January 2023 , the company partnered with mining giant ICL, to transform and scale its fermentation bioprocess.

Funding and financials

In March 2022, Arkeon raised EUR 7 million (~USD 7.7 million) in seed funding led by Blue Horizon Ventures to scale up the production of amino acids and peptides for use in plant-based and cell-cultured food. In December 2022 , the company secured an additional EUR 4 million (~USD 4.2 million) from new investors including ICL, AWS Gruenderfonds, and others. The additional funding was to be used for advancements in product development, technology, and infrastructure.