Belgian microbial manufacturing company Zymofix is investing €6 million in a new production facility in Deinze, Belgium, as it moves its solid-state fermentation technology from pilot-scale validation to industrial manufacturing.

The facility will produce microbial products for agriculture and other markets using Zymofix’s Zyft platform, which is designed to manufacture microorganisms on solid substrates rather than through conventional liquid fermentation.

Production at the new site is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027, with initial capacity of 300 tonnes per year. Zymofix estimates that capacity would be sufficient to produce products for approximately 1 million hectares.

The company plans a further €25 million expansion in 2028, subject to successful commissioning of the first production line. That expansion would increase annual capacity to 2,000 tonnes, enough to treat approximately 10 million hectares.

The investment follows a Series A financing led by First Imagine!, with participation from existing investors VP Capital, HTGF and The Nest Family Office. Part of the €6 million investment will be financed through the equity round, with the remainder funded by revenue from existing customer programs.

Zymofix said demand from customers has outgrown its current production capacity following successful pilot-scale validation of Zyft. The new site will allow the company to increase production for existing programs, take on additional projects and establish its industrial manufacturing base.

“Finding a promising microorganism is only part of the challenge. The harder part is manufacturing it consistently, efficiently and at the volumes the market requires,” said Emile Redant, co-founder and CEO of Zymofix.

Redant said solid-state fermentation has significant potential but has historically been difficult to scale. Zymofix has spent four years developing Zyft and, following successful pilot validation, the Deinze facility represents the next step toward industrial production, he said.

Zyft cultivates living microorganisms on solid substrates under controlled conditions. The company says it has tested more than 170 bacterial, fungal and yeast strains on the platform, providing the basis for manufacturing programs developed with customers.

Agriculture is currently a major focus for Zymofix, which works with more than 15 customers, most of them multinational agricultural-input companies. Customer programs include biostimulants, biofertilizers and biocontrol products, as well as applications in bioremediation and other industries requiring large-scale microbial production.

Rather than developing its own microbial strains, Zymofix acts as a manufacturing partner for product developers. Its services span process development, fermentation, formulation and scale-up. The company says its solid-state approach is intended to address a manufacturing challenge for microorganisms that do not perform well in conventional liquid fermentation.

Zymofix was founded in 2022 and now employs about 35 people. The company expects that number to reach approximately 45 by the end of 2026 and 60 by the end of 2027 as it expands its manufacturing, technical and commercial teams.

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