New project will revolutionize sustainable protein production for food and fish production

The GreenImPro project will support the growing demand for sustainable protein sources, while reducing Europe's reliance on soy imports. The GreenImPro project aims to counter this reliance by creating novel, locally sourced protein ingredients through a scalable and economically viable process, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the economic viability of green biorefineries. Innovation Fund Denmark has invested almost DKK 11 million in the project.

The GreenImPro project will transform the production of protein ingredients for food, aquaculture, and feed for monogastric animals in a single project. The project not only offers economic benefits but also boasts a positive climate and environmental impact. By upcycling traditional feed crops to food ingredients and replacing soy protein in feed formulations, it has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly. Innovation Fund Denmark has invested almost DKK 11 million in the project.

The core idea behind the project is to produce high-quality sustainable white protein isolate and concentrate ingredients for use in food applications and aquafeed in co-production with green protein for feed, leveraging raw materials such as alfalfa, white clover, and sea lettuce.

Overcoming colour and antinutritional factors (ANFs) presents a challenge, but GreenImPro will tackle this hurdle by combining heat treatment with filtration using an innovative vibrational membrane technology.

The process, which was developed and optimized at Department of Food Science, Aarhus University (AU) will be refined and optimized in a demonstration biorefinery facility at Aarhus University before being scaled up to commercial production at the Project Lead, the company BioRefine.

- If we succeed with the project and can produce high quality protein for the food industry, BioRefine expects a substantial increase in production sites. It will ensure both scalability and economy of production of protein from alfalfa and clover, says Project Leader Laila Thirup from BioRefine.

The GreenImPro consortium is composed of research and industry partners with diverse capabilities.

The involved departments from Aarhus University possess in-depth knowledge of the complex chemistry of the biomasses involved, expertise in agile scale-up within demonstration facilities, and facilities for testing protein quality for both food and feed applications. The Grand Solution project gives possibility to bring all needed capabilities and partners into play.

- GreenImPro gives us the opportunity to work on three different protein qualities for food, aquafeed, and feed for monogastric animals. We are excited to get the chance to deliver science and knowledge with potential to be implemented in industry within a short period of time and which makes a difference in green transition, says Professor Trine Kastrup Dalsgaard.

The Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, AU will upscale a process line developed at Department at Food Science, AU, who will also evaluate the food quality together with Toft Care, while Department of Animal and Veterinary Science, AU and BioMar will evaluate the nutritional value in monogastric animals and trouts, respectively. Finally, Department of Green Technology University of Southern Denmark will do Life Cycle Assessment on the whole process.

Partners such as HedeDenmark bring experience in large-scale, mechanized, and gentle sea lettuce harvests in close collaboration with Department of Ecoscience, AU, while BioRefine contributes with expertise in scaling up and commercial operation of the biorefinery process where SANI Membranes brings their patented membrane technology into play.

Fakta

• Innovation Fund DK’s investment: 10.9 mio. DKK
• Total budget: 14.7 mio. DKK
• Duration: 3 years
• Official title: GreenImPro - Improved business potential by increasing protein quality from green feed protein to food protein ingredients and high quality aquafeed

Partners

• BioRefine Denmark A/S is a company that started producing green protein concentrate for feed in 2021. The company is owned by DLG, Danish Agro and DLF, and the plant is situated north of Varde in Jutland.
• BioMar are innovators in high performance aquafeed for fish and shrimp, running its own R&D program. Bio-Mar operates 17 feed facilities across the globe and supply feed to around 90 countries and for more than 45 different species. BioMar is wholly owned by the Danish industrial group Schouw & Co.
• Toft Care is a Danish SME within the nutriceutical industry focused on clinical- and sports nutrition. Toft Care has seen high growth rates during the last couple of year due to high demand for both clinical nutrition from hospitals/elderly homes and high performing endurance sportspeople.
• Sani Membranes Sani Membranes A/S is a cleantech company with a unique membrane separation technology that ensures a high yield of proteins through efficient microfiltration using minimal energy and a simple solution.
• HedeDanmark is part of Hedeselskabet and work to create a sustainable future with the nature as partner. HedeDenmark is a nature-oriented entrepreneur company with a goal of minimize climate changes, increase biodiversity and renew the limiting resources of nature
• Aarhus University is recognized for its work within green biorefinery for food and feed. Within this context the Centre for Circular Bioeconomy (CBIO) Centre for Circular Bioeconomy (au.dk)
•  has been a game changer.
• Department of Food Science, AU develops proof-of-concept for biorefinery strategies (TRL1-3) and evaluates the food quality with respect to functional and sensory properties as well as nutrients, and antinutrients. 
• Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, AU has the Demo platform for biorefinery of green biomass for feed and is now also upscaling for food protein qualities.
• The Department of Animal and Veterinary Science, AU evaluates feed quality in one stomach animals and ruminants. The Department has the facility to support evaluation of human nutrition using the rat and pig models.
• Department of Ecoscience, AU has expertise in the sustainable cultivation and harvest of seaweeds and the effects on the marine environment and climate.
• SDU, and more specifically center for Life Cycle Engineering, holds expertise in sustainability assessment, techno-economic and life cycle assessment, multi-criteria decision analysis, and circular economy/bioeconomy.