LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A new $40 million facility in Franklin County will soon turn bourbon byproduct into alternative proteins, creating up to 35 new jobs in the process.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced Monday Lexington-based Meridian Biotech is partnering with Buffalo Trace Distillery to build a new $40 million state-of-the-art facility to convert the distillery's byproduct into multifunctional alternative proteins that can be used for aquaculture products, pet foods and organic fertilizer.
The partnership aims to overcome the food shortage caused by the growing global population. This will make the Lexington-based Meridian the first biotech company in Franklin County, according to the release.
“We are proud to welcome Meridian to Frankfort with this incredible investment that will create high-quality jobs, strengthen our economic future and continue to grow Kentucky’s iconic bourbon industry,” Gov. Beshear said in a release. “It’s partnerships like these that prove we can honor tradition while embracing transformation and that Kentucky can be a leading force in the biotech industry.”
The distillery's byproduct will be piped directly from the distiller to Meridian's facility, the company said in a release.
“By reimagining distillery stillage as a resource rather than a byproduct, we’re pioneering new pathways in biotechnology that have the potential to transform the spirits industry,” Brandon Corace, President of Meridian Biotech, said in a release Monday.
In 2021, Meridian was selected out of five companies nationwide to present its innovation technology at the Distillers Grain Reverse Pitch Competition, challenging innovators to create new ways to tackle the bourbon industry's spent-grain byproduct in a sustainable, environmentally safe and economically valuable way.
A spokesperson said a location for the biotech facility "has been secured," but Meridian is waiting until the facility's groundbreaking, expected later this year, to release the location.
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