Valley partner and Swiss startup, Voltiris, a leader in solar energy solutions for greenhouses, has successfully closed a CHF 4.8 million seed financing round to accelerate the electrification of high-tech greenhouses – a fast-growing $60 billion market. The round was co-led by the Swiss venture capital firm EquityPitcher Ventures and 3M Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of 3M Company, joined by the Climate Tech VC fund Satgana and several prominent family offices, reflecting strong support from key opinion leaders.

The new funds will accelerate large-scale commercialization and further performance optimization of the proprietary spectral filtering technology – driving ROI for growers in times where energy independence and decarbonization are more valuable than ever.

Nicolas Weber, Co-Founder & CEO of Voltiris, expressed his enthusiasm for the next stages of the company’s growth, stating, “This funding marks a pivotal moment for Voltiris as we expand our commercial footprint across key European markets including Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. We are also excited to continue enhancing our technological edge, making solar-powered greenhouses a cornerstone of sustainable agriculture.”

The funding will catalyze Voltiris’ capacity to execute confirmed projects in key markets, reinforcing its position at the forefront of the agrivoltaic industry. The company is also set to expand its team in Switzerand and the Netherlands, enriching expertise in agronomy, solar project development, and sales.

“With this new round of funding, Voltiris is poised to scale operations significantly,” added Sascha Horrig, Founding Partner at EquityPitcher. “We are excited to support their journey together with the global leader 3M to elevate and broaden the integration of agronomy and solar energy.”

Over the past two years, Voltiris has reached significant milestones, including 12 commercial projects with renowned growers in Europe, partnerships with leading energy utilities like Elektra Baselland and Romande Energie, and multiple industry awards.

These achievements attest to the practical and economic benefits of the spectral filtering technology, which not only allows for efficient solar energy production on top of the most light-sensitive crops, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, but also improves the greenhouse climate, contributing to healthier crop growth and resilience.

Voltiris

Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Voltiris develops the first solar modules compatible with greenhouse agriculture and their crops. Leveraging spectral filtering technology, Voltiris transmits to crops the essential light components for photosynthesis, while the ‘unused’ spectral elements are filtered and directed towards solar panels. Voltiris allows growers to leverage their greenhouse surfaces to generate the clean, competitive, and independent energy they need to transition to a carbon-free electrification.

www.voltiris.com

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Valley partner, Givaudan, a global leader in flavours, taste, functional and nutritional solutions, has announced a new collaboration with Moonshot Pirates, a dynamic movement of young leaders and changemakers. The “Shape the Future” Challenge will inspire Gen Z consumers to imagine the alternative protein experience of the future and come up with new solutions that do not mimic meat, fish or dairy but reflect their key priorities – affordability, nutrition and convenience.

To date, The Moonshot Pirates have received applications from around 1,000 young innovators, aged 15 to 24, from across the globe. Participants are encouraged to develop ground-breaking alternative protein concepts that are sustainable, nutritious, affordable and delicious.

Flavio Garofalo, Growth Platform Director Culinary & Plant Attitude, Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing commented: “We are thrilled to collaborate with young leaders globally to drive alternative protein innovations that challenge conventional norms and deliver unforgettable, multi-sensory food experiences. We eagerly anticipate igniting fresh and creative ideas, ultimately inspiring and co-creating the next generation of delicious consumer products centered around alternative proteins with our customers.”

Finalists in the “Shape the Future” Challenge will present their ideas in a virtual, live-streamed pitch to a jury of experts on the 9th January 2025. The winners will enjoy an exclusive visit to MISTA, an innovation platform for the food industry based in San Francisco, which Givaudan has established along with other industry partners. More encompassing than an incubator or accelerator, MISTA is an optimiser, enabling start-ups and established corporations to optimise ideas, products, people and investments. There, the Challenge winners will gain valuable insights into alternative protein development, and how to optimise ideas, products, people and investments.

“Over the years, we’ve witnessed how collaborating with the next generation of innovators brings in fresh ideas and unique perspectives that can truly drive change. These young, digital natives are passionate about sustainability and the future, so it’s exciting to see companies like Givaudan appreciate the value of these partnerships,” said Aneta Londa, Co-Founder of Moonshot Pirates. “We’re thrilled to partner with Givaudan to explore the future of alternative proteins and develop solutions that contribute to a healthier, more sustainable food system.”

Givaudan will support this project by providing nine expert mentors and exploring opportunities to scale up promising product innovations that emerge from the Challenge. The collaboration will also harness Givaudan’s global innovation ecosystem, bringing in the company’s experts, technologies and integrated portfolio of solutions to address the taste, sense, and nutritional challenges of alternative protein applications.

About Givaudan

Givaudan is a global leader in Fragrance & Beauty and Taste & Wellbeing. We celebrate the beauty of human experience by creating for happier, healthier lives with love for nature. Together with our customers we deliver food experiences, craft inspired fragrances and develop beauty and wellbeing solutions that make people look and feel good. In 2023, Givaudan employed 16,260 people worldwide and achieved CHF 6.9 billion in sales with a free cash flow of 13.3%. With a heritage that stretches back over 250 years, we are committed to driving long-term, purpose-led growth by improving people’s health and happiness and increasing our positive impact on nature. This is Givaudan. Human by nature. Discover more at www.givaudan.com

About Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing

Powered by innovation and creativity, Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing aims to shape the future of food by becoming the co-creation partner of choice to its customers. Built on its global leadership position in flavours and taste, the Company goes beyond to create food experiences that do good and feel good, for body, mind and planet. With an expanded portfolio of products across flavours, taste, functional and nutritional solutions and a deep knowledge of the food ecosystem, Givaudan’s passion is to collaborate with customers and partners to develop game changing innovations in food and beverage. This is Givaudan. Human by nature. Learn more about how we are shaping the future of food at www.givaudan.com/taste-wellbeing

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On 4th December 2024, Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley, together with Valley partner The Cultured Hub brought together Swiss and international experts to explore the state of the industry and discuss how to collaborate to capitalise on opportunities for growth.

The cultured meat market is estimated to grow at a rate of almost 52% a year from 2023 to 2030.^[1] Cultured food could offer consumers products that taste and feel like the animal-based original, with a reduced environmental and animal welfare impact^[2] and improved food security. Despite this potential, barriers to scaling remain.

Yesterday, The Cultured Hub – a newly launched state-of-the-art biotech facility and scale-up platform created by Migros, Givaudan, and Bühler Group – teamed up with Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley, to co-host an event to explore the state of the industry. State of Play: Cultured Foods 2.0 brought together Swiss and international experts to discuss how to collaborate to capitalise on opportunities for growth.

Creating the conditions: from policy to product

The event’s morning sessions set the stage with insights into Switzerland’s vision in this space, legal developments, and the global trends shaping the industry. Speakers included Yannick Gächter from The Cultured Hub, Ralph Langholz from the Swiss Protein Association, Carlotte Lucas from The Good Food Institute Europe and Illtud Dunsford, CEO and CoFounder of Cellular Agriculture Ltd, who collectively painted a comprehensive picture of the opportunities and challenges in the cultured food landscape.

“As one of the world’s most innovative nations, Switzerland is well positioned to play a key role in scaling cultured foods,” said Yannick Gächter, CEO of The Cultured Hub. “Our jointly developed facility embodies the collaborative spirit of the Swiss food ecosystem. By bringing together the right partners, our technology platform also enables startups to tap into centuries of experience in food processing, product development, production, marketing and market launches, allowing them to scale up faster and minimise capital investment.”

Innovative solutions to produce cultured foods at scale

In the afternoon, participants heard from Simona Fehlmann, CEO and Co-Founder of Swiss start-up sallea. Founded in November 2023 as a spin-off from leading Swiss university ETH Zurich, her team recently secured $2.6 million in a pre-seed round to support the development of its plant-based “scaffolds” for better texture and nutritional profiles in cultured meat products.

Commenting on their journey so far, Simona said, “Setting up in Switzerland has helped us to position as a leading scaffold provider for cellular agriculture. Switzerland is not only home to global companies like Nestlé, Bühler and Givaudan with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the food sector, it also has a strong pool of talent, which is essential to any startup’s growth.”

Collaboration is at the heart of progress

The day ended with fascinating inputs from Christine Schäfer from the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute about the role of consumer acceptance, and an inspiring keynote speech by Ira van Eelen, the daughter of Willem van Eelen, the “Godfather of cultured meat”.

Today, as Cofounder of RESPECTfarms and and Board Member of Cellulaire Agricultuur Nederland, Ira shared her experience of tasting cultured products all over the globe and how, through RESPECTfarms, she’s working in partnership with the Swiss Farmers’ Union to explore new business models that ensure benefits for stakeholders across the value chain.

Reflecting on the event, Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley CEO, Christina Senn-Jakobsen concluded: “Collaboration is at the heart of progress. By bringing the Swiss ecosystem together with leading international experts, we can better spot potential hurdles and find new ways to propel the cultured food industry forwards.”

About Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley

Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley (SFNV) is a not-for-profit association founded in 2020 that strengthens and promotes food system innovation, both within Switzerland and across the globe. Our diverse network of Valley partners – from global companies, universities, innovation accelerators to government bodies, SMEs and startups – collaborate to address the most pressing challenges in food, agriculture and nutrition, and co-create innovative solutions that drive better planetary and human health.

Follow the Valley on Linkedin

About The Cultured Hub

The Cultured Hub collaborates with a global network of start-ups to find answers to the food industry’s most pressing questions and develop foods of the future. The Cultured Hub enables start-ups in the cultivated foods sector to reach industrial manufacturing more quickly and cost-effectively. The organization’s aim is to accelerate the development of sustainable proteins – specifically cultivated meat, fish, seafood, and precision fermentation products – by providing state-of-the-art scale-up facilities, cutting-edge technologies, expert guidance, and an extensive network.

www.theculturedhub.com

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Swiss technology group Bühler today inaugurates its new Grain Innovation Center (GIC) in Uzwil, a trailblazing facility. The new application center marks a significant milestone in the field of grain processing innovation, combining high-tech solutions with the company’s long-standing expertise in a space that promotes collaboration. The GIC is carefully designed to empower customers from the food and animal nutrition industries to innovate and improve their processes, ensuring they stay ahead of the latest trends in milling and remain competitive in their rapidly evolving markets. Additionally, customers and partners have access to the comprehensive Application & Training Center (ATC) hub in Uzwil, which connects entire value chains.

“The Grain Innovation Center is the latest addition to Bühler’s expanding network of Application & Training Centers in Uzwil,” says Johannes Wick, CEO of Grains & Food at Bühler Group. “We cover the entire range of production, from various raw materials to a wide array of finished products. In doing so, we provide our customers with exceptional flexibility and the choices they need to address increasing challenges and revolutionize their markets.”

With changes in global grain supply chains, nutritional requirements, transparency of sourcing and pricing pressure, the milling industry faces a challenging environment. These include maintaining flour quality with variable raw materials, improving production and energy efficiency, managing safety issues, or finding and keeping well skilled professionals. Adopting new technologies – such as automation, IoT, and data analytics – and addressing environmental concerns add complexity, while growing consumer demand for healthier and more sustainable products has driven a faster pace of innovation.

For this purpose, Bühler has designed a fresh, modern, and high-tech milling technology facility – the GIC. The new building is the successor to Bühler’s former Grain Technology Center, which has served the milling industry since 1951. The five-story facility spans 2,000 square meters and features state-of-the-art infrastructure along with over 70 pieces of cutting-edge equipment from Bühler and its partners. The GIC works as a leading-edge arena for customers to experiment, innovate, and find concrete solutions to meet their specific needs.

A high-tech “playground”

The GIC is equipped with the latest solutions and technologies for processing grain and pulses. Customers can conduct tests on food and animal feed and can develop new processes and solutions in various areas, including cleaning, optical sorting, grinding, sifting, mixing, protein shifting (a mechanical process that increases the protein concentration in plant-based raw materials). Additionally, they can work on hygienization and pelleting, as well as dehulling, peeling, and pearling of grains and pulses. “The GIC offers an unparalleled environment where customers can develop tailored processes and witness the extensive capabilities of Bühler’s diverse portfolio firsthand,” says Stefan Birrer, Head of Business Area Milling Solutions at Bühler. “The GIC is not just a facility, it’s a symbol of our commitment to helping customers succeed in an industry that is continuously evolving.”

Food trials encompass a variety of raw materials, including cereals, herbs, spices, and pulses. The GIC includes the technology and expertise to conduct trials on local and ancient grains – raw materials that can play a vital role in improving food security in many countries. Leveraging its extensive know-how in processing, the GIC also offers testing for various other commodities, including coffee, nuts, and insects. Additionally, the Application & Training Center caters to non-food bulk solids, such as plastics and absorbers.

Feed trials can be performed with production capacities of up to 5 tonnes per hour, covering the entire production line or individual process steps. “One of the main advantages of the GIC is its ability to provide not only detailed data that enable continuous and precise monitoring of the process but also the physical and chemical properties of the product at every stage of production and under different process conditions,” says Lothar Driller, Department Manager Feed Application Center and Trainings at Bühler.

The side streams generated by the GIC, such as wheat bran and rice husks, corn husk, pea hulls, and screenings from cleaning, will feed Bühler’s Energy Recovery Center, which provides heating for Bühler offices in Uzwil. Customers can also use this Center to explore the potential of utilizing side streams through energy recovery, which can lead to the reduction of their carbon footprint, waste, and energy costs.

Part of a larger innovation hub

The GIC is part of Bühler’s Application & Training Centers hub, which encompasses the four recently launched ATCs – Flavor Creation Center, Food Creation Center, Protein Application Center, and Energy Recovery Center – and other centers that have been in operation for several years, such as the Extrusion Application Center and Pasta Application Center.

With this innovation hub, Bühler can provide full, farm-to-fork coverage, encompassing entire value chains, an environment that is unique in the market. “Our broad business stretches across the entire protein value chain, and we have meticulously implemented a strategy for partnerships, closing internal gaps and enhancing material flow,” says Rudolf Hofer, Head of the Grain Innovation Center.

Training and upskilling talent

The modernization project also includes Bühler’s Milling Academy and the Swiss Institute of Feed Technology (SFT), both of which will be housed in a new structure strategically located next to the GIC to increase synergies. This new Milling Academy and the SFT facility will have classrooms, open learning areas, meeting rooms, a customer service corner, new laboratories, a workshop area, and a larger changing room for customers and employees.

The new building will enable Bühler’s team and customers to adapt and develop the skills needed to keep pace with a quickly changing and increasingly challenging work environment. About 1,000 customers and 150 internal employees were trained in more than 120 training courses offered by the Milling Academy and the Swiss Institute of Feed Technology in 2023. The new training facility is due to be operational by January 2025.

About Bühler

Bühler is driven by its purpose of creating innovations for a better world, balancing the needs of economy, humanity, and nature in all its decision-making processes. Billions of people come into contact with Bühler technologies as they cover their basic needs for food and mobility every day. Two billion people each day enjoy foods produced on Bühler equipment; and one billion people travel in vehicles manufactured using parts produced with Bühler solutions. Countless people wear eyeglasses, use smart phones, and read newspapers and magazines – all of which depend on Bühler process technologies and solutions. Having this global relevance, Bühler is in a unique position to turn today’s global challenges into sustainable business.

As a technology partner for the food, feed, and mobility industries, Bühler has committed to having solutions ready to multiply by 2025 that reduce energy, waste, and water by 50% in the value chains of its customers. It also proactively collaborates with suppliers to reduce climate impacts throughout the value chain. In its own operations, Bühler has developed a pathway to achieve a 60% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scopes 1 & 2, against a 2019 baseline).

Bühler spends up to 5% of turnover on research and development annually to improve both the commercial and sustainability performance of its solutions, products, and services. In 2023, some 12,500 employees generated a turnover of CHF 3.0 billion. As a Swiss family-owned company with a history spanning 164 years, Bühler is active in 140 countries around the world and operates a global network of 105 service stations, 30 manufacturing sites, and Application & Training Centers in 25 locations.

www.buhlergroup.com

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