Rethinking Fermentation: Why Solid-State Is Gaining Ground in Biotech
- Marc Violo
- 8 hours ago
- 4 min read
Article in partnership with Solid Fermentation Innovation a consulting company specializing in research, development, scale-up and downstream processes of solid-state fermentation based products.
Solid-State Fermentation (SSF) has been with us for centuries. From koji and tempeh in Asia to traditional fermented cheeses and starters in Europe, SSF was how many cultures learned to work with microbes long before we used bioreactors and autoclaves. In the 1960s and 70s, the technique found a new home in enzyme production, with fungi used to produce amylase, chitinase, and proteases at commercial scale. Around the same time, SSF also entered the agricultural world as a method for producing biocontrol agents, mostly fungal spores grown on solid carriers.
Why Solid-State Fermentation Is Gaining Ground
But in the last three to five years, something big has shifted. We’ve seen a surge of interest in SSF across multiple industries. Why now? The reasons are both practical and cultural. On the one hand, SSF offers a compelling business case: it typically requires lower CAPEX (capital expenses) and OPEX (operational expenses) than submerged fermentation, it supports circular economy models through the use of agro-waste and side streams, and it enables the production of a wide diversity of metabolites and biomass types. On the other hand, the cultural rise of fungi, from gourmet mushrooms to mycelium leather, has helped shine a light on SSF as a forgotten but powerful platform.
A growing, cross-sector wave of innovators is embracing SSF. As Dr. Barak Dror, co-founder and CEO of Solid Fermentation Innovation (SFI), puts it: “We saw early signs of this shift and started tracking it closely, what emerged was a broad movement across industries, each adapting SSF to their own needs.” SFI’s recently updated open-access database lists over 90 companies, from meat alternative startups to biocontrol firms, now applying SSF to produce everything from mycoprotein and enzymes to packaging foams and active pharmaceutical ingredients. That breadth tells a story: while SSF is still considered niche, it’s quickly gaining traction as a promising method for working with fungi and other microorganisms in high-impact applications.
At the same time, a rise in academic consortia, especially in the EU but also in North America and Asia, has been spotlighting microbial food and bio-based materials as critical innovation fields. SSF is increasingly recognized within these frameworks as a relevant, underutilized bioprocessing approach with strong sustainability credentials.
From Mycoprotein to Vegan Leather: Who’s Using SSF Today?
In alternative proteins, SSF enables the growth of mycoprotein-rich biomass on low-value side streams, a high-yield, low-footprint protein source. We’re now seeing a new wave of startups, like Denmark-based MATR Foods who are using SSF to create whole-cut meat analogues, functional ingredients for hybrid products, and even natural flavor boosters that enhance umami or meaty notes.
In agriculture, companies like Agrauxine by Lesaffre or Israel-based Fungit Biosolutions, are scaling fungal biocontrol products grown via SSF to replace synthetic pesticides and growth promoters.
In biomaterials, mycelium is grown on local feedstocks to create foams, boards, textiles and packaging with low water and energy inputs. In 2024, MycoWorks, launched the largest vegan leather SFF manufacturing plant in South Carolina.
Even in bioremediation, companies like Novobiom or Mycomine are using fungi grown via SSF to degrade organic pollutants and heavy metals in soil and water.
Scaling the Process: SSF’s Biggest Bottlenecks
Yet despite this growing momentum, the SSF field still faces key challenges. Transitioning from lab setups to consistent, scalable production is far from straightforward. A startup developing fungal biomass might succeed at bench scale but see its early pilot batches fail due to uneven heat distribution and moisture loss.
Process development remains under-explored, especially when it comes to understanding temperature dynamics, airflow, packing density, heat buildup, and microbial behavior at different depths or scales. There’s also a lack of diverse, off-the-shelf fermentation equipment- most solutions are custom-built, adapted from other industries, or not suitable for fine-tuned control. The move from lab to pilot, and from pilot to industrial scale, continues to be one of the most under-appreciated hurdles.
Infrastructure and Expertise: What’s Still Missing?
A recent report SFI published with GFI Israel sheds light on many of these pain points, especially within the alternative protein domain. It emphasizes the need for better process understanding, standardization, and infrastructure to support companies adopting SSF as a foundational platform.
For SSF to scale, companies need more than fermentation expertise. They need adaptable infrastructure, contract manufacturing partners, and proven scale-up protocols to de-risk scale-up and help companies move from pilot to industrial readiness. These needs are currently unmet in much of the biotech world.”
SFI plays a cross-sector role, offering hands-on support to companies growing everything from fungi for food to spore-based biocontrols. “We focus on SSF, and SSF only, because this is where we grew, and where we see the biggest untapped potential. SFI works across the lab, pilot, and scale-up settings, tailoring fermentation designs and strategies to match each company’s organism, substrate, and production goal. Whether helping a startup design its first 200 kg system, supporting the optimization of a fermentation process to increase yield, or running a proof-of-concept for strain selection or side-stream upcycling, SFI brings both technical depth and sector-specific flexibility.”
What’s Next for Solid-State Fermentation?
SSF is no silver bullet, but it's experiencing a renaissance globally. In a biotech landscape dominated by liquid fermentation, this low-tech, high-potential platform offers new routes for circular production. Whether in fungi-powered pest control or low-cost enzymes from agriculture or food waste, SSF is forcing a rethink of what microbial manufacturing can look like and deliver. The momentum is real but making it stick will require shared infrastructure, applied research, and better knowledge exchange.