Project
Call for partners: Sustainable high-protein concentrates
Protein ingredients for plant-based foods need to deliver on functional and flavor performance. Protein isolates are best-in-class in this regard, but are processed using wet separation technologies which use high levels of water and energy for drying. Dry separation technologies are preferred for sustainability. This project aims to combine dry separation with post-processing steps to achieve the best of both: sustainable high-protein concentrates.
Problem statement
Ingredients prepared with dry separation technologies like air classification or electrostatic separation require lower energy and water inputs than wet separated ingredients. Unfortunately, the protein concentrates resulting from dry separation don’t always deliver on protein content, functional performance, and flavour. A scientific breakthrough is needed to enable sustainable production of high-protein concentrates.
Solution direction
Within this project we will use sustainable technologies that are low in water and energy consumption that can upgrade protein concentrates from 50-60% protein towards 80% protein to make them a functional and sustainable alternative to protein isolates. Technologies applied will cover a range of technology readiness levels, from currently applicable to longer-term breakthrough concepts.
The techniques can be used to remove other components like sugars, ANFs, ash or to disentangle and/or remove fibres. Technology selection will be performed before the project submission based on the interest of the partners, and during the project based on technology performance.