RICHMOND, IND. — The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Ameris Bank a $25 million loan guarantee for Liberation Labs’ biomanufacturing facility in Richmond.

Liberation Labs is constructing a precision fermentation biomanufacturing facility with a capacity of 600,000 liters and a fully dedicated downstream process. Construction began in June. Concrete was poured in September. Commercial production should start before the end of this year. The plant will produce bio-based proteins and other ingredients for consumer packaged goods companies and other industrial manufacturers.

“The award of this USDA loan guarantee is continued confirmation of the importance of adding biomanufacturing capacity in the US as well as the strength of our business plan,” said Mark Warner, co-founder and chief executive officer of Liberation Labs. “Our project underwent significant due diligence and risk rating, and to come out the other end with a loan guarantee is a strong reflection of the quality of our team, our vision and our ability to execute. We appreciate the significant efforts of the team at Ameris Bank to help secure this award.”

The $25 million loan guarantee is a USDA business-and-industry loan. The government backs such loans and makes them available to businesses in areas with a population of 50,000 or fewer residents as a way to spur development.

Liberation Labs in December 2022 raised $20 million in a seed round. In April of this year $30 million in equipment financing was secured to help build the facility.