This undated photo shows a bottle of drink from egg-substitute maker Eat Just Inc. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

Egg-substitute maker Eat Just Inc. plans to build and operate its first plant protein facility in Singapore, with investment from a consortium led by Proterra Investment Partners Asia Pte.

The group will invest up to US$100 million and Eat Just will put in as much as US$20 million in the plant that aims to expand protein production in Asia, according to a joint statement on Tuesday. Proterra Asia, a private-equity firm spun off from agricultural giant Cargill Inc., said the funding will help the company set up a fully-integrated supply chain.

The group will invest up to US$100 million and Eat Just will put in as much as US$20 million in the plant that aims to expand protein production in Asia, according to a joint statement on Tuesday

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Investments in alternative protein companies have accelerated as the firms compete to invent substitutes to traditional meat production as consumers become more careful about nutrition and the environment. More people are also going hungry as the pandemic upends food-supply chains, cripples economies and erodes consumer purchasing power.

Once built, the first factory in the southeast Asia city-state will generate “thousands of metric tons of protein,” according to the statement. Future facilities may be built in Asia as the demand for protein is seen rising sharply, it said.

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Beyond this partnership, Eat Just and Proterra Asia are also discussing expanding their alliance to the commercial production of cultured meat, which is made from cells instead of animals that are raised and slaughtered, the companies said in the statement.