ABP, the Dutch pension fund for government and education employees, has announced a €32.5m investment in Vivici, a startup that produces proteins without using cows.

The investment in Vivici is an impact investment, part of the ABP Dutch Energy Transition and Biodiversity Fund (ANEB).

The pension fund allocates €10bn for impact investments, with at least €1bn earmarked for investments that actively and demonstrably contribute to preserving nature and biodiversity.

The advantage of Vivici's production technology is that it emits up to 68 per cent less CO2 than the typical dairy process, uses 86 per cent less water and does not require the keeping of animals.

Vivici's protein also offers health benefits: It ensures that regular dairy protein is lactose-free so that people with a disease that prevents them from eating lactose can also eat or drink it.

The company said it would use the €32.5m investment to scale up production, accelerate growth, gain access to new international markets, and launch a second dairy protein product later this year.

ABP stated the main objective of the investment was to achieve a positive return.

"There are also plenty of opportunities for this, given the rapidly growing demand for proteins - the first market Vivici is targeting, nutritional supplements, was worth around €27bn in 2023 alone," it added.

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