Marshall, Minnesota will soon house a new, 500,000-square-foot biomanufacturing facility as part of a partnership between two climate technology and sustainable solutions companies.
Solugen and ADM will construct the site near ADM’s existing corn complex in a move Mayor Bob Byrnes credits to ADM’s “longstanding commitment” to Marshall. The commitment, he said, helped lay the foundation for the partnership with Solugen.
“As a community with a strong foundation of agriculture and innovation, we look forward to welcoming Solugen to Marshall,” Byrnes said. “This industry-leading facility will serve as a powerful economic driver for the city, creating new jobs and diversifying our industry.”
Off-stie construction is expected to begin this year, with onsite construction beginning in 2024.
The project’s initial phase should create at least 40 permanent jobs, in addition to 100 temporary construction jobs, according to Solugen and ADM.
“The initial phase of the project will significantly increase Solugen’s manufacturing capacity, which is critical for commercializing our existing line of molecules and kicks off plans for a multi-phase large-scale U.S. Bioforge buildout,” said Sean Hunt, Co-Founder and CTO of Solugen. “The increase in capacity will also free up our Houston operation for research and development efforts into additional molecules and market applications.”
Gaurab Chakrabarti, Co-Founder and CEO of Solugen, said the partnership will allow Solugen to bring its “chemienzymatic process to a commercial scale” and meet existing customer demand.
“As one of the few scaled-up and de-risked biomanufacturing assets in the country, Solugen’s Bioforge platform is helping bolster domestic capabilities and supply chains that are critical in ensuring the U.S. reaches its ambitious climate targets,” Chakrabarti said.