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Industrial scale recovery of high-grade proteins from food-processing by-products

Project description

New technology for the extraction of whey proteins

As the earth’s population grows, scientists are looking into ways to make plant and animal protein to meet the growing demand. Alternative proteins now constitute an emerging domain within the traditional food system. As such, the potential of whey proteins (which constitute 20 % of the proteins in milk) is attracting the interest of many scientists. The EU-funded Recover4Benefit project is developing a new approach for the extraction of targeted whey proteins with the highest purity and activity. It will first establish a production facility for protein extraction from different resources and then replicate the technology at other medium-sized dairies, milk-biorefineries and biotechnology plants. The goal will be to validate the technology and develop a commercialisation strategy.

Objective

Demand for plant and animal proteins is rapidly growing and will double in 2050. Also, the demand for high-quality dairy proteins is set to rise dramatically as consumers begin to realise their full potential. Alternative sources will need to be exploited to meet the demand. Meanwhile, more than 200 mio tons of whey is produced annually worldwide, and less than 50% is used for human consumption. Much of it still represents an environmental burden (with BOD 35-55gO2/L). While whey is usually further processed by large dairies, small and medium-sized, as well as emerging biotechnology companies that use whey as a substrate, are confronted with a lack of adequate technologies for optimal utilisation of the full potential of whey. On the other side, there is a growing market demand for high-quality (pure and biologically active) individual whey proteins and their hydrolysates. We aim to disrupt the existing market of protein extracts by introducing a novel approach to the extraction of high-valued & high-purity proteins from the food industry by-products. We aim to start with the dairy industry, introducing the extraction of targeted whey proteins with the highest purity and activity in the frame of the integrated whey management concept. Our goal is to establish (1) production facility for extraction of proteins from different resources, starting with own production and sale of superior quality mayor and minor whey proteins with the use of surplus whey of surrounding dairies, (2) proceed with the technology replication to other medium-sized dairies, milk-biorefineries and biotechnology plants, (3) and servicing development of protein extraction methods and scale-up processes from other resources using our IP and infrastructure. The SME1 project will aim at validating the technology concept, refining the analysis on risks and opportunities, fine-tuning the commercialisation strategy and secure pre-commercial trial in SME2.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

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Coordinator

ARHEL PROJEKTIRANJE IN INZENIRING DOO
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 50 000,00
Address
PUSTOVHROVA 15
1210 LJUBLJANA SENTVID
Slovenia

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Slovenija Zahodna Slovenija Osrednjeslovenska
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 71 429,00
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