ALEHOOP project demonstrates at pilot scale the potential of sustainable macroalgae and legume-based biorefineries for obtaining low-cost dietary proteins from algal and plant residual biomass, validating their use to meet food and feed industry requirements. Consumers demand affordable functional proteins from alternative sources, while industry seeks bio-based, low-cost ingredients with better performance and higher sustainability.
Proteins and amino acids are essential building blocks of life due to their nutritional and physiological properties. Beyond their biofunctionality, they influence food appearance, texture and stability thanks to technofunctional traits such as solubility, foaming, emulsification and gelation. Global population growth, rising incomes, urbanisation and ageing populations are intensifying protein demand. Current needs for 7.3 billion people reach 202 million tonnes annually. While 58% comes from plants (soy, cereals, potatoes), the rest derives from meat, fish, dairy and eggs. Growing meat consumption further increases demand for animal feed proteins. Europe depends heavily on imports, especially over 30 Mt of soy annually from the Americas, covering 95% of EU needs. This dependency raises economic, environmental and food security concerns. New alternative protein sources are therefore required. ALEHOOP explores green macroalgal blooms, brown seaweed by-products and legume residues (peas, lupins, beans, lentils) as sustainable protein alternatives for feed (green algae) and food (brown algae, legumes). These biomass sources are low-cost, underexploited and non-competitive with traditional crops.Big food brands are increasingly adopting protein substitutes, creating business opportunities. The global alternative protein market was valued at $8.26 billion in 2017, with a projected CAGR of 7.4% (2018–2023), driven by health concerns, nutritional awareness and weight management trends. ALEHOOP targets the development of biofunctional and technological proteins from algal and legume by-products for high-end markets, contributing to sustainable and affordable protein supply chains in Europe.
Conclusions of the action:
ALEHOOP proved the technical feasibility of producing high-quality proteins from red and green macroalgae and legume by-products via optimised, eco-designed biorefineries. Red seaweed showed strong potential thanks to higher protein content and lower processing demands compared to brown algae. Legume-based biorefineries achieved protein levels above 80% with excellent techno-functional performance, notably in lupin extracts after reducing alkaloid bitterness.
The eco-designed ALEHOOP processes cut CO2 emissions by up to 52%, lowered costs, and outperformed conventional protein sources environmentally. Although further scaling and by-product valorisation are needed for full market competitiveness, the project establishes a solid basis for industrial uptake, enhancing Europe’s protein autonomy, supporting sustainable aquaculture and livestock feed, and generating green jobs in regional economies.
