Elian secures €40 million COFIDES investment to expand Barcelona soybean processing hub
Spanish plant-based protein producer Elian has received a €40 million (US$45.66 million) minority equity investment from Spain's COFIDES to expand its integrated soybean processing facility at the Port of Barcelona, which is expected to add more than 100,000 tonnes of annual protein ingredient capacity for animal feed and food by early 2028.
Spanish plant-based protein producer Elian has secured a €40 million (US$45.66 million) investment from Spain's state development finance institution COFIDES to expand its soybean processing operations in Barcelona, adding significant new protein ingredient capacity for animal feed and human food markets.
COFIDES — the Spanish Development Financing Company — will become a minority shareholder in Elian through Spain's Co-investment Fund (FOCO), according to the company announcement. The funding forms part of Elian's broader industrial expansion at the Port of Barcelona, in which the company says it is investing more than €300 million (US$342.4 million) in total.
The expanded facility is expected to be completed in early 2028. Once operational, it will cover around 90,000 square metres and add more than 100,000 tonnes a year of production capacity for protein derivatives used in human food and animal feed, supplementing existing annual capacity of approximately 770,000 tonnes.
Elian acquired the soybean crushing plant from Cargill in 2024 and subsequently expanded its investment plans in late 2025. The company describes its Barcelona project as using clean-label processing technology designed to operate with an end-to-end hydrocarbon-free extraction process from raw beans to finished ingredients.
The investment is positioned within the wider context of European protein supply security. COFIDES stated that 94% of soy used for animal feed in the European Union is currently imported. The EU is targeting an increase in the share of domestically produced oilseed and protein crops used for feed from 25.8% in 2025 to 35% by 2035.
Elian is also promoting non-GMO soybean cultivation in the Spanish regions of Catalonia and Aragon, with a target of 3,000 hectares during 2026, which the company says could create a closer link between regional soybean farming, processing and feed ingredient production.
The investment package also includes €2.25 million (US$2.57 million) in support from ACCIÓ, Catalonia's business competitiveness agency, through its high-impact business projects programme.
Elian reported revenue of €400 million (US$456.59 million) in 2025 and employs around 90 people, according to COFIDES.
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