Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 13: A Sathguru-GFI India study maps 478 facilities across nine segments and 17 states. It finds 26.43 million kL of idle capacity relevant to precision and biomass fermentation.
India’s existing fermentation plants could help boost smart protein production, a new study says. Sathguru Management Consultants and the Good Food Institute India conducted the study. It estimates 198 million kL of smart protein-relevant fermenter capacity. Around 26.43 million kL of that capacity currently sits idle.
The report, Mapping India’s biomanufacturing potential for smart proteins, surveyed 478 facilities. These span nine biomanufacturing segments across 17 states. The capacity figure reflects potential availability, not current smart protein output.
Spare capacity matters because fermentation plants are costly and slow to build. Underused vessels, by contrast, come with utilities and skilled operators. Mapping them gives investors and manufacturers a clearer basis for capacity planning.
According to the study, owners could use idle assets to diversify and build new revenue. Possible products include protein ingredients and functional food components. Higher utilisation can spread fixed costs across greater output. Yet not every idle vessel is accessible or technically convertible.
The study divides opportunities between two fermentation methods. Precision fermentation programmes microbes to make a single target ingredient, such as a protein. About 7,737 kL of idle capacity is relevant to this route, the report estimates. It lies with CDMOs, biopharmaceutical producers and industrial enzyme makers.
Biomass fermentation instead harvests the microbes themselves as a protein-rich ingredient. Five food-grade industries hold 2.74 million kL of idle capacity relevant here. These are distilleries, breweries, wineries, probiotics makers and yeast producers.
The study’s modelling shows how far partial deployment could stretch. Lactoferrin is a specialised milk protein used in nutrition and health products. Committing 20 per cent of relevant idle precision capacity could meet 2025 global demand. The study puts that market at about $635 million.
Yeast protein shows an even wider gap between capacity and demand. Just 0.2 per cent of relevant idle biomass capacity could cover its 2025 market. That global market is valued at roughly $347 million. The study sees an early-mover opening for India, though this remains a projection.
Neither figure represents revenue that Indian manufacturers can expect to earn. Both scenarios are theoretical estimates of what available capacity could produce. Converting existing plants may still prove cheaper than building new ones.
Conversion will not come free, however. The report notes retrofitting needs and feasibility differ across industries and facilities. Pharmaceutical vessels may need adaptation for food-grade use, hygiene and safety standards. Downstream processing, purification and regulatory approvals add further cost and time.
Sneha Singh, GFI India’s Managing Director, said global producers face high capital intensity. She also cited limited commercial-scale infrastructure worldwide. India’s existing capabilities could offer more cost-effective scaling, she said. She tied that pathway to the BioE3 policy framework.
BioE3 stands for Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment. Report co-author Ravi Audichya, a Sci-Tech Specialist at GFI India, took a wider view. He noted fermentation already supplies biotherapeutics and ingredients for household products. He argued it could support affordable, high-quality nutrition in India.
The capacity exists on paper. Turning it into viable smart protein output depends on investment, feasibility and demand.
