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WHY INDIANA?
Global demand is growing for biomaterials that can be used to make everything from real cheese without cows to more nutrient-rich infant formula to stronger, better-for-earth fabrics. Those products are produced through a process known as precision fermentation, but the capacity for producing such biomaterials at commercial scale is limited, especially in the United States. Liberation Labs was founded in 2022 to meet the growing demand and almost immediately began searching for the best place in the U.S. to build its first commercial-scale fermentation facility.
That “best place” was Richmond, Indiana, where Liberation Labs was drawn to a 36-acre site in the Midwest Industrial Park.
“This is the single best site I’ve ever found in a search,” Liberation Labs CEO Mark Warner told Site Selection magazine in 2023.
“At a high level, Richmond and Indiana checked all the boxes,” Warner said. “We looked at 10 sites nationally, and the combination of qualified, available workforce; economically advantaged raw materials and utilities; and existing infrastructure were the key drivers.”
Corn dextrose, a key ingredient in the fermentation process, is abundant in Indiana. There are also enough water, power and wastewater resources in the area to serve the facility’s initial 600,000-liter fermentation capacity, as well as the anticipated expansion to 4 million liters of fermentation capacity.
Reaching that capacity would require around 150 new hires in addition to the initial 45 and an additional investment of approximately $350 million. The company envisions the Richmond site becoming its base of operations in the U.S. and a model for facilities it wants to build in the Middle East, Australia, Europe, Southeast Asia and South America.
INDIANA—A LAB FOR INNOVATION
Liberation Labs—an innovator in sustainable, bio-based manufacturing —is set to further Indiana’s reputation as a destination for future-focused companies.
Liberation Labs is bringing to Indiana a platform for biomanufacturing that doesn’t exist today. Most novel bioproducts come from facilities originally designed to produce pharmaceuticals and biofuels. Liberation Labs’ Richmond facility is intended specifically for precision fermentation, and is therefore expected to set a new industry standard for quality and efficiency
“This type of company and industry is a perfect fit for the Hoosier state given Indiana’s strong agriculture and manufacturing sectors,” said Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb. “We love to see innovative new technologies creating quality jobs and career pathways for both today’s and tomorrow’s workforce.”
Liberation Labs previously completed an initial round of hiring at the facility and in early 2025 will begin filling the majority of jobs, which will pay above the state average. The company forged a partnership with Ivy Tech Community College’s Richmond campus to launch a biotech training program for future employees. While the program is specific to Liberation Labs, it can serve as a template for future employer-specific programs.
Each of Liberation Labs’ expected 45 direct jobs in Richmond is estimated to support nearly three (2.96) additional jobs in the region—part of the ripple effect that comes with any big investment.
Counting economic impacts through direct operations and the supply chain, Liberation Labs’ cumulative annual impact on the state of Indiana is estimated at 178 jobs, nearly $13 million in labor income (including wages, salaries, benefits, and proprietors’ incomes), $21 million in gross state product (GSP) and $67 million in output.
Liberation Labs also builds on Richmond’s economic development winning streak, which includes several new manufacturing facilities, among them a $200 million, 60-job Blue Buffalo premium pet food plant. The city is also investing $60 million in road improvements, Interstate 70 is being improved and widened in the region, and developers are beginning to invest in Richmond’s downtown.
FAST FACTS
WHO: New York-based Liberation Labs, a manufacturer of biomaterials used across the value chain—from food to fashion to pharma
WHAT: The company’s first commercial-scale precision fermentation facility
WHERE: Richmond’s Midwest Industrial Park
INITIAL INVESTMENT: $115 million
NUMBER OF JOBS: 45, with potential for up to 200
TIMELINE: Under construction. Projected opening in second half of 2025