The State enters with 40 M€ into the capital of Elian through Cofides
The plant-based protein company will increase its production at the plant in the port of Barcelona
BarcelonaThe state-owned commercial company Cofides has entered the capital of the agro-industrial company Elian, which produces vegetable protein at its plant in the port of Barcelona, contributing 40 million euros to contribute to the growth of this industrial project. The operation, through which Cofides becomes a minority shareholder—it will hold 13.8% of the capital—was presented this Wednesday.
Founded in Barcelona in 2021, Elian acquired a soybean processing plant located in the port of Barcelona in 2024 for about 100 million euros. At the end of last year, the company announced an expansion of this plant, in which it will invest another 200 million, to increase the production of protein concentrates and texturizers, for both human and animal consumption.
The founder of Elian, Andrés Martín, assured this Wednesday that this expansion of the current facilities, which will lead to the construction of a second plant dedicated to protein concentrates for human consumption, will be ready “by the end of 2028”. The company, which belongs to the Viserion International group, produces 770,000 tons annually, and when the expansion is concluded, it will reach 90,000 square meters of surface area and add more than 100,000 tons of new capacity. The company highlights that the agro-industrial project at the port of Barcelona for the production of vegetable protein will thus exceed 300 million euros in accumulated investment.
The investment by Cofides in Elian has been structured through the Co-investment Fund (FOCO), an instrument created within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and managed by this state-owned commercial company. The general director of Cofides, Miguel Tiana, said that with these 40 million in investment, the company supports the expansion project of Elian at the port of Barcelona and contributes to the scaling of a strategic project, reports Efe.
Support from the Generalitat
For his part, the Minister of Business of the Generalitat, Miquel Sàmper, has made clear the Generalitat's support for the Catalan agri-food sector, which he considers "strategic," and has added that it "will continue to accompany" Elian in this stage of expansion. Elian's project in Barcelona has the support of Acció, the agency for the competitiveness of the Generalitat, through aid of 2.25 million euros.
For his part, the CEO and founder of Elian, Andrés Martín, has thanked the Generalitat for its support and also for Cofides' entry into the shareholding, of which he said it represents "a key institutional support." Martín has detailed that the company had a turnover of about 400 million euros in 2025 and that it has 90 employees.
The Barcelona plant is one of only three integrated infrastructures of this type existing in Europe and the first agro-industrial plant in the world with a comprehensive hydrocarbon-free process from grain to final products. The company promotes the cultivation of non-transgenic soy in Catalonia and Aragon, and already has production purchase agreements with farmers who occupy about 3,000 hectares and plans to increase this figure to 10,000 hectares by the time the plant expansion is completed.
Currently, 94% of the soy used in the European Union for feed is imported, which is why the EU has set out to increase the share of protein from oilseeds and protein crops intended for local feed from the 25.8% recorded in 2025 to 35%.
