# Bioalbumen by Onego Bio Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/agriculture/bioalbumen Frontier: [Agriculture](https://technooptimist.io/agriculture.md) · Field: Fermented proteins · Company: [Onego Bio](https://technooptimist.io/companies/onego-bio.md) Stage: Pilot (3 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling) Updated: last update 2026-05-05, facts checked 2026-10-11 Goal: Make egg-white protein without hens. Egg prices swing with bird flu outbreaks and feed costs; a fermented, identical protein gives food makers a steady supply with a far smaller footprint. Status: FDA cleared it as safe in Sept 2025; food-maker trials under way, big Wisconsin plant due 2028. Next milestone: Wisconsin manufacturing plant online, target 2028 ## Milestones | Status | Milestone | Date | Slip | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Done | Spun out of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland | 2022 | | | Done | $40M Series A | Apr 2024 | | | Done | Wisconsin plant site acquired (25.9 acres) | 2025 | | | Done | FDA 'no questions' letter on GRAS status (GRN 1249) | Sep 2025 | | | Done | Collaboration with Sigma Foods | 5 Mar 2026 | | | Planned | Wisconsin manufacturing plant online | 2028 | | ## Upcoming events - **2028**: Wisconsin manufacturing plant online ## Most important updates - **5 May 2026**: Wisconsin federal judge dismisses Onego Bio's patent lawsuit against The Every Company. The US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin dismissed, for lack of personal jurisdiction, Onego Bio's suit seeking to invalidate a foundational Every Company ovalbumin patent and alleging fraud. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/wisconsin-federal-judge-dismisses-onego-bio-s-patent-lawsuit-against-8e160a88.md) · [original source](https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/the-every-company-onego-bio-lawsuit-precision-fermentation-egg-protein/)) - **5 Mar 2026**: Onego Bio and Sigma Foods agree to test Bioalbumen egg protein in commercial products. Sigma Foods, a multinational food company with more than 100 brands in 17 countries, signed a collaboration to assess Bioalbumen's function and commercial potential. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/onego-bio-and-sigma-foods-agree-to-test-bioalbumen-egg-protein-in-6922597d.md) · [original source](https://www.onego.bio/press/our-news/4yhgdeb8xhk9iajl43h4plezjv28gi)) - **24 Sep 2025**: FDA issues a 'no questions' letter on the safety of Onego Bio's fermented egg-white protein. The FDA raised no questions about Onego Bio's conclusion that Bioalbumen, ovalbumin made by the fungus Trichoderma reesei, is generally recognised as safe. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/fda-issues-a-no-questions-letter-on-the-safety-of-onego-bio-s-fermented-c28f064f.md) · [original source](https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2025/09/24/fda-greenlights-onego-bios-bio-identical-egg-white-protein-gras-dossier/)) - **3 Apr 2024**: Onego Bio closes a $40M Series A led by NordicNinja for animal-free egg protein. Onego Bio raised $40 million, including $10 million of non-dilutive funding from Business Finland, bringing its total to $56 million. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/onego-bio-closes-a-40m-series-a-led-by-nordicninja-for-animal-free-egg-15329d54.md) · [original source](https://globalaginvesting.com/onego-bio-closes-40m-series-a-for-animal-free-egg-protein/)) ## Current obstacles - **No large plant yet**: Until the Wisconsin plant opens in 2028, volumes are limited and cost per kilo stays high. - **Patent dispute**: Onego's suit against The Every Company over its ovalbumin patent was dismissed in Wisconsin; a Delaware case is pending. ## Physics limits - **Output per tank sets the price**: Fermentation tanks are costly sterile steel, and a microbe spends much of its sugar on growing itself. Grams of protein per litre per day decide whether it can match the price of eggs. - **One protein, not a whole egg**: Egg white is a mix of several proteins; one fermented protein reproduces many but not all of its behaviours, so some recipes need adjusting. ## How it works ### Program: A fungus learns to make egg white The gene for ovalbumin is put into Trichoderma reesei, a fungus long used to make enzymes at industrial scale. ### Brew: Fermentation on sugar The fungus grows in large tanks and produces the protein, much as a brewery makes beer, with no animals involved. ### Purify: Separated and dried The protein is separated from the broth and dried into a shelf-stable powder. ### Use: Works like egg white FDA-cleared uses include baked goods, pasta, drinks and desserts, for foaming, gelling and binding. ## Spec sheet | Spec | Bioalbumen | Provenance | | --- | --- | --- | | Protein content | 90 g per 100 g | reported | | Egg whites per kg of powder | 277 | reported | | Protein quality (PDCAAS) | 1.0 (maximum) | reported | | Fermentation per plant unit | 2 million litres | reported | | Wisconsin plant output (target) | Equal to 6 million laying hens | reported | | Production organism | Trichoderma reesei (fungus) | reported | Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure. ## About Onego Bio Finnish-US company, spun out of Finland's VTT research centre, that makes Bioalbumen, an egg-white protein identical to the one hens make, using a fungus in fermentation tanks. - FDA 'no questions' letter on Bioalbumen's safety (GRAS) in Sept 2025. - Bought a Jefferson County, Wisconsin site for a plant due online in 2028. - Raised a $40M Series A in 2024 (led by NordicNinja); $56M total then. - Founded: 2022 - Headquarters: FI, US - Status: private - Raised: $55M - Last round: EIC Accelerator $15M, Jul 2024, led by European Innovation Council - Website: https://www.onego.bio - People: Maija Itkonen (Co-founder & CEO); Christopher Landowski (Co-founder & CTO) - Partners, customers, investors: Sigma Foods (partner); NordicNinja (investor); Agronomics (investor); Business Finland (investor) Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/onego-bio.md ## Related programs Everything in Agriculture: https://technooptimist.io/agriculture.md --- The Techno Optimist tracks every frontier of technology, program by program: https://technooptimist.io/ (a Markdown version of any page: add .md to its URL; site map for agents: https://technooptimist.io/llms.txt). 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