Climate technology company Solugen has commenced construction on its 500,000-square-foot Bioforge Marshall project, a biomanufacturing facility in Marshall, Minn. The company is developing the bio-based chemicals plant in partnership with Archer Daniels Midland Co., also known as ADM, a global leader in sustainably sourced solutions from nature.
Solugen’s new facility is expected to be delivered in the fall of 2025. Upon completion, the development is expected to create more than 50 manufacturing jobs in addition to as many as 100 temporary jobs during construction.
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The Bioforge Marshall facility will sit on a 34-acre site and will feature three modular trains or production lines with a total production capacity of 120 kilotonnes per annum. Additionally, the plant will utilize ADM-sourced dextrose to manufacture low-carbon organic acids to be used in agriculture, energy, water treatment and personal care. For this purpose, two dextrose pipelines will be connected directly to ADM’s adjacent corn processing plant, resulting in higher production capabilities and lower transportation costs and emissions.
Solugen’s new facility will utilize a production process that is estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 18 million kilograms per year, while also increasing the company’s existing capabilities. The Minnesota Department of Employment, together with the state’s Economic Development’s Job Creation Fund has issued $760,000 in incentives for the development.
As part of their strategic partnership, which was announced in late 2023, Solugen and ADM also initiated collaborations with local workforce development groups and educational institutions including Marshall Chamber of Commerce, Southwest Minnesota State University, as well as Minnesota West Community and Technical College, among others. Solugen is also operating two facilities totaling 500,000 square feet in Houston, where the company opened its first carbon-negative molecule manufacturing plant.
Strategic life science partnerships
Earlier this year, another strategic partnership between Trinity Capital Advisors and Foundation Capital Ventures has formed Foundation, a platform focused on creating real estate solutions to support the growth of the life science, technology and innovation sectors across the U.S.
In February, Onyx Equities teamed up with Machine Investment Group to kick off the next phase of an upcoming international life science and biotechnology hub. The partnership had purchased an 108-acre industrial campus in Kenilworth, N.J., in 2023. Dubbed The Northeast Science and Technology Center, the upgraded campus will cater to prospective cutting-edge research and development companies.
