Primient to open Illinois scale-up facility for precision fermentation startups
US corn wet miller Primient will open the iPROOF facility in Decatur, Illinois next May, letting biotech firms validate their technology and costs before moving to commercial-scale production.
Primient, a US corn wet milling and biomanufacturing company, plans to open a precision fermentation scale-up facility in Decatur, Illinois, next May. The site, called iPROOF (Illinois Pilot Research and Operations Optimization Facility), will let startups and established companies test their technology and production economics before committing to commercial manufacturing. Precision fermentation is a method that uses microorganisms to produce specific ingredients.
The facility will have fermenters from 1,200 to 10,000 liters and flexible downstream processing equipment, with staff working around the clock. Although Primient wholly owns iPROOF and it sits on the company's Decatur campus, it will run as a separate legal entity with its own management and staff. Tim Fowler, general manager of Primient's biosolutions business, told AgFunderNews that it will be an independent, neutral resource. It will charge fees for services, though longer-term strategic partnerships are possible, and users need not become Primient customers.
Why it matters
Fowler said the US is strong in biotech science but lacks infrastructure to move from lab to commercially viable production. The industry calls this stage the "valley of death." In his view it combines three problems: technical issues that appear as bioreactors get larger; the need to validate production costs at meaningful scale; and investors' growing reluctance to fund the necessary infrastructure. At 10,000 liters, firms can gather more reliable process and cost data and make enough product for customer samples.
Downstream processing
Fowler said iPROOF will stand out for its downstream processing, backed by Primient's decades of industrial manufacturing experience. The equipment is interchangeable, so customers can try different approaches. The aim is to optimize upstream and downstream steps together.
Primient and next steps
Primient was formed in 2022 when Tate & Lyle sold a controlling stake in its Primary Products business to private equity firm KPS Capital Partners. It makes sweeteners, starches, acidulants and other corn-derived ingredients, plus citric acid and bio-based propanediol. Its Decatur campus already has a fermentation facility, Building 99, which could be restarted with additional investment. The company also offers land, utilities and corn-derived feedstocks at sites in Lafayette, Indiana, and Loudon, Tennessee. Primient is especially interested in higher-value renewable chemicals, biopolymers, surfactants, dairy proteins and ag biologicals.
