A chicken and egg situation
Liberation Bio CEO Etan Bendheim did not respond to requests for comment this week.
Speaking to AgFunderNews over the summer, however, he said there was “qualified stated interest for well over 200% of the available capacity” at the site, but acknowledged the firm was in a chicken and egg situation.
Customers, he said, want certainty on when the facility will be operational before making binding commitments, while capital providers want firmer commitments before signing checks.
“There’s a saying in project finance that when it comes to first-of-a-kind facilities, everyone wants to be first to be second. But we’re working really hard with our customers and our funders and other kind of solutions-oriented folks in the space to see if we can create a solution that meets everyone’s needs.”
While new capacity in China, India, and Europe has come online recently, a dedicated US facility for precision fermentation remains compelling, claimed Bendheim. “We don’t believe that the competitive set is the thing that’s holding us back.”
Agronomics cofounder Jim Mellon told AgFunderNews: “Agronomics has nothing further to add to the information in its announcement of 29 September. Liberation’s strategic review has concluded; all major construction elements of the facility are complete, and Liberation and its key shareholders remain fully committed to completing it.”
Further reading:
Liberation Bioindustries pauses construction again as it seeks funds to complete US biomanufacturing site
Amyris CEO on the post-bankruptcy re-boot: ‘We’re a drastically different company’
StrainX Bioworks nets $13m to scale biomanufacturing platform: ‘India is going to be the fermentation capital of the world’
