Primient to open Decatur precision fermentation facility in May

US corn wet miller Primient is preparing to open a new precision fermentation scale-up facility in Decatur, Illinois, next May. AgFunderNews reported that the Illinois Pilot Research and Operations Optimization Facility, known as iPROOF, is designed to help startups and established businesses validate their technology and economics prior to full commercial manufacturing. [1]

The new site will feature dedicated staff operating around the clock, along with flexible downstream processing equipment. AgFunderNews noted slight variations in the site's specifications, reporting in the same article that the fermenters range from either 1,200 or 1,500 liters up to 10,000 liters. [1]

Primient was formed in 2022 when investment firm KPS Capital Partners acquired a controlling interest in the primary products business of Tate and Lyle. That business previously included the A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company, a longtime American food products manufacturer that Tate and Lyle bought in 1988. [2]

The iPROOF facility aims to bridge the scale-up gap in industrial biotechnology by providing the equipment and operational capacity required to test commercial viability. [1]