New Study: Enifer’s PEKILO Pet Mycoprotein 7X More Carbon Efficient Than Soy Protein
February 27, 2025 - 4 min read
With Enifer’s new €33M production facility on schedule to begin production by early 2026 and the company actively eyeing new factory locations around the world, the latest carbon footprint study highlights PEKILO®Pet’s strong potential as a sustainable ingredient for the pet food industry.
Espoo, Finland (February 27th, 2025) Finnish biotech company Enifer has released the results of its latest Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), determining the Carbon Footprint (CFP) of its proprietary mycoprotein ingredient, PEKILO®Pet. The study reinforces Enifer’s commitment to sustainability, revealing that PEKILO®Pet has an impressively low CFP, significantly lower than many common pet food ingredients.
With the global pet population growing and studies suggesting that the ecological footprint of cats and dogs can rival that of humans, depending on their size and diet, it’s more important than ever to consider the environmental impact of pet nutrition. The study reports that the cradle-to-gate total CFP of PEKILO®Pet, covering fossil, biogenic, Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULUC) emissions, is 0.93 kgCO₂e per kilogram of product.
In contrast, soy protein concentrate produces up to 6.7 kgCO₂e per kilogram. This means that PEKILO®Pet has 86% lower carbon emissions, equivalent to driving 46 kilometers less in an average gasoline-powered car. PEKILO®Pet also performs better than insect protein powder (1.15 kg CO₂e) and produces five times fewer emissions than high-quality dry pet food ingredients like lamb (5.84 kg CO₂e).
The primary contributor (47%) to PEKILO®Pet’s emissions is the production process, including electricity and steam usage. Raw materials account for 38% of emissions, while transportation contributes 14%. The fossil CFP for PEKILO®Pet alone is calculated at 0.80 kgCO₂e/kg, with raw materials responsible for 45% and production processes for 38% of this total. The LULUC CFP for PEKILO® is low as the production of inputs for the PEKILO® production process doesn’t directly require land. The LULUC CFP for PEKILO® is 0.00213 kgCO2e/kg.
“We are incredibly pleased with the results of this CFP study, which validate the environmental benefits of PEKILO®Pet and our production process in Kantvik, Finland,” says Enifer CEO Simo Ellilä. “The findings reinforce our mission to offer sustainable, high-protein solutions to the pet food industry and that constructing new PEKILO®Pet production facilities across Europe will be a significant development in our journey. PEKILO®Pet presents a unique opportunity to significantly lower carbon emissions while maintaining nutritional excellence.”
PEKILO®Pet mycoprotein is a nutrient-rich ingredient produced through a biomass fermentation process that utilizes a unique fungal strain, akin to the techniques employed in brewing or producing soy sauce. This process yields a powdery mycoprotein ingredient that is rich in protein and beta-glucan fiber, low in fat and carbohydrates, and a highly palatable and digestible source of complete protein.
In 2024, Enifer secured funding for its first €33 million production facility, set for completion by the end of 2025. Detailed engineering for the factory is nearing completion, and all major equipment has been ordered, keeping the project on schedule. At full capacity, the factory will annually convert agricultural and food industry by-products into 3,000 tons of dry, powdered mycoprotein ingredients.
The process data provided by Enifer was based on projected estimates of its Kantvik production facility for 2025 rather than actual measurements, which affects the reliability of the results. The CFP study could be reconducted when real production data is available.
Second, although this study specifically focused on greenhouse gas emissions – other important environmental indicators could be assessed to holistically evaluate the environmental performance of PEKILO®. Furthermore, the CFP was conducted with a cradle-to-gate approach, which lacks the impacts of the use phase and end-of-life stage.
Third, the emission factors for production inputs and outputs, derived from the Ecoinvent database, may lack temporal and geographical specificity. For instance, some factors are available only at a global level, whereas country-specific data would be preferable for greater accuracy. However, the results remain robust and reliable despite this limitation.
About Enifer
Enifer, a spin-off company from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, was founded by five scientists in 2020 to further develop and commercialize the proprietary PEKILO® technology. A process originally developed and used by the Finnish forest industry at a commercial scale, the PEKILO® technology enables the biotechnological conversion of dilute side streams into a high-protein ingredient, PEKILO® mycoprotein.
Enifer already has ongoing partnerships with big global companies in the feed and food industries, such as Skretting, the global aquafeed division of Nutreco, Purina for pet food, and Valio for consumer food products.
