Whey2Value: valorising waste whey into high-value products

Informations projet

WHEY2VALUE

N° de convention de subvention: 663742

DOI

10.3030/663742

Projet clôturé

Date de signature de la CE 21 Janvier 2015

Date de début 1 Février 2015

Date de fin 31 Mai 2015

Financé au titre de

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Coût total

€ 71 429,00

Contribution de l’UE

€ 50 000,00

Coordonné par

ACIES BIO BIOTEHNOLOSKE RAZISKAVE IN RAZVOJ DOO
Slovenia

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WHEY2VALUE (Whey2Value: valorising waste whey into high-value products)

Période du rapport: 2015-02-01 au 2015-05-31

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

Acid whey is a major unsolved high-cost environmental challenge for the world’s dairy industry. Around 200 million tons of waste whey is produced annually, of which nearly 50% goes unprocessed and ends up clogging the wastewater treatment stations or, in less regulated environments, is released into streams thus heavily polluting the environment. W2V meets the unmet challenge of sustainable milk processing with a make-use-reuse principle: from milk industries (cheese production) through waste whey management to vitamin B12 production, used as a high-value animal feed additive, and a purified water which is again reused by the dairy industry.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

Within the scope of SME INST Phase 1 we performed a feasibility study of four main components of the project: technical, market, financial and managerial feasibility. The feasibility study provided an important insights for preparation of optimal business model with in-depth analysis of market conditions, technical specifications and risk assessments and financial modeling.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

The W2V project aims to bring to market a unique patent-pending eco-innovation bioprocess to utilize acid whey as a primary ingredient for microbial fermentation to produce sustainable high value products. The W2V technology converts the organic content of acid whey into feed-grade microbial biomass with high content of valuable vitamin B12, while the remaining water can be reused by the dairy factory or released into the water streams. The implementation of W2V technology will greatly reduce the environmental footprint, lower the production costs and increase competitiveness of dairy companies. Particularly, W2V technology will be highly relevant for European dairy industry, where most companies consist of small and medium sized dairy factories, which cannot afford costly processing facilities for disposal of acid whey. W2V project will generate an entirely new type of product for the EU and global markets: an organic vitamin B12-enriched microbial biomass, which can be used as very high quality animal feed, creating a perfect example of sustainable and economical circular zero-waste economy. W2V technology requires a low-cost processing facility, which can be installed on site of the dairy company. W2V technology is a game-changing solution for small-to-medium sized dairy companies and to the dairy industry in general. We expect rapid European and global market adoption of this unique disruptive technology demonstrating resource efficient circular economy.

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