Project description
Rapeseed cake could yield proteins for human consumption
More and more people are turning to plant-based proteins to meet dietary requirements for varying reasons. Rapeseed cake is a high-protein, high-energy product made from heavy-pressed rapeseed formed after oil production. While it is commonly used as feed for farm animals, it has not been exploited for human consumption. The EU-funded ALSEOS project could change that very shortly. Scientists are planning to showcase their multi-patented technology for extraction of high-quality protein from rapeseed cake in a full-scale demonstrator. The biorefinery is expected to double the revenue for rapeseed processors.
Objective
The continuing growth of world population is pushing demand for food. Climate changes and limited resources for farming lead to increased interest in new sources of nutrients alternative to meat. Additionally, human diet undergoes a significant shift towards proteins. Therefore, the growth of plant protein market is predicted to be drastically driven up in the coming years. Oilseeds, known for their high content of nutritious proteins, are expected to take center stage as main source of plant proteins aimed for human consumption. Nowadays, the main product of rapeseed processing is oil. A by-product – rapeseed cake – is used as animal feed. There is no commercial technology capable of extracting fully functional protein from rapeseed cake. At NapiFeryn BioTech (NFB) we came up with a new technology which allows more efficient use of this by-product. Our technology is protected with three patent applications. It enables full recovery of high-quality rapeseed cake proteins, ready to be used in food industry. Our business model is based on licensing of the technology to rapeseed processors. Licensing fee will be calculated individually for each oilseed processor or integrated formulator, based on the annual scale of the processed rapeseed. We have validated the pricing strategy with rapeseed processors. The first license agreement has been signed already in 2016. In the Ph2 project we aim primarily at delivering full-scale demonstrator (TRL9) of the rapeseed protein isolation technology at the commercial level (market launch), collect and prove all the data needed to quantify the cost-effectiveness of our technology. These activities will provide the input required for the main deliverables of the project: The Basic Engineering Level design of Biorefinery. With our technology the value that could be derived from the same amount of crop will double, from EUR 450 to EUR 900 per ton, which might be the only way for rapeseed processors to stay in business.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementbusiness models
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturegrains and oilseedsoilseeds
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutrition
- agricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedomestic animalsanimal husbandryanimal feed
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
93 465 Lodz
Poland
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.