Spain’s Elian Raises $46M From Govt Fund to Safeguard EU’s Plant Protein Sovereignty

Spanish agrifood firm Elian has secured €40M ($45.9M) in funding from state-owned fund Cofides to turn Barcelona into a plant-based production hub and boost the EU’s food security.

Spain’s government has made a big bet on plant proteins as a lever for regional food security.

The Spanish Development Finance Company (Cofides), a sovereign wealth fund, has pumped €40M ($45.9M) into Barcelona-based agribusiness company Elian to help scale up the production of plant-based proteins and contribute to the EU’s food sovereignty goals.

The investment is a nod to the firm’s model of “agrifood autonomy”, centred around a local, sustainable and innovative supply chain, as well as high-value-added products for the European food industry.

Cofides structured the capital infusion through its Co-Investment Fund (FOCO), which supports projects in strategic sectors for the transformation and competitiveness of Spain on a co-financing basis with foreign investors. The government-owned fund is now a minor shareholder in the company, with Elian owner Viserion International the co-investor for this transaction.

It will accelerate Elian’s agro-industrial project to expand plant-based protein production at its facility in Barcelona, which has already seen over €300M in cumulative investment since the start of 2021.

Scale-up efforts will expand Elian’s product and customer base

Elian is one of Europe’s leading soybean processors, producing ingredients like textured soy protein, soy protein concentrate, soy flour, soybean oils, soy lecithin, and more at its milling plant at the Álvarez de la Campa at the Port of Barcelona.

Its facility is one of only three integrated infrastructures of its kind on the continent, making it a strategic asset for reducing Europe’s reliance on imports from the US, South America, and China.

It’s also the first agro-industrial plant with an end-to-end hydrocarbon-free process, which it attributes to a “pioneering clean-label” oilseed processing technology that guarantees high purity with significantly lower environmental impact.

Following its acquisition of a benchmark soybean crushing plant in 2024, Elian announced an expansion of its industrial project at the end of 2025, with completion scheduled for early 2028.

This will see the plant reach 90,000 sq ft and add more than 100,000 tonnes of capacity for producing protein derivatives for human food and animal feed annually, on top of its current 770,000-tonne scale. The move will broaden its range of products, consumers and end-use sectors.

Elian, whose revenues hit €400M last year, was supported by a €2.25M grant from Acció, the growth agency of Catalonia’s Department of Business and Labour.

“Elian’s investment in Catalonia meets all the requirements to be considered strategic: reindustrialisation, the creation of quality jobs in a sector of the future, and an undeniable commitment to sustainability,” said Miquel Sàmper, the business and labour minister for Catalonia.

Elian’s food sovereignty aim aligns with EU Protein Plan

The investment in Elian coincides with the publication of the EU’s Protein Plan, which sets a framework for scaling up plant protein production to boost the region’s autonomy and self-sufficiency, primarily focusing on reducing its dependency on imports.

The EU is self-sufficient in low-protein feed, but imports 74% of its supply of high-protein sources like oilseeds and protein crops, breeding vulnerability to global market fluctuations and supply chain disruptions. It has set a target to increase the share of domestically produced proteins from 25.8% last year to 35% by 2035 (though this is focused on animal feed).

The EU did acknowledge that growing more plant proteins within the region would contribute to its food security and energy objectives, create new opportunities for farmers and rural areas, and contribute to its climate neutrality goal for 2050. Elian said its Barcelona plant not only helps lower import reliance for key ingredients, but also makes the European market more resilient to global supply chain volatility.

“Elian has developed an innovative industrial project with the capacity to contribute to the strengthening of European supply chains in a strategic area such as plant-based protein,” said Cofides director-general Miguel Tiana.

“With FOCO, we are contributing to the growth of a company that combines sustainability, technology, and long-term vision, while strengthening the competitiveness of the Spanish economy.”

The company is now driving its growth by promoting non-GMO soybean cultivation in Catalonia and Aragon, aiming to reach 3,000 hectares this year. It is simultaneously on the hunt for inorganic growth opportunities via deals aligned with its strategic vision to scale its sustainable production model.

“Cofides joining our shareholding structure represents key institutional backing and demonstrates that the Barcelona plant has gone beyond the industrial sphere to become infrastructure of strategic national importance,” said Elian founder and CEO Andrés Martín.

“This alliance enables us to accelerate our roadmap to lead Europe in plant-based protein sovereignty, ensuring that the food industry has access to a local, traceable, highly sustainable supply that is protected from volatility in global supply markets.”