“We are excited to issue our second call for proposals as we keep working to advance the value-added processing sector in Western Canada to increase the production of plant protein-based products and co-products.” Chief Executive Officer of Protein Industries Canada Bill Greuel said. “We will once again be accepting EOIs aligned with our strategic objectives in our priority pillars of Create, Grow, Make and Sell. In addition to creative new uses for proteins and protein products, we hope to see projects related to co-product uses like livestock feed and starch utilization.”
All projects must be submitted by a consortium consisting of at least two Protein Industries Canada members, one of which must be a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME). Projects must demonstrate collaboration between organizations to leverage strengths, address gaps and incent innovation to accelerate the processing of plant protein products and co-products.
“We had an overwhelming response to our first call for proposals that closed at the end of June, receiving 38 expressions of interests,” Greuel said. “This demonstrates the interest in plant protein and the strength of the sector. We look forward to working with companies of all sizes from across Canada and globally to capitalize on the growing opportunity for plant protein.”
Of the 38 EOIs received in the first round, 16 have been invited to the full project proposal phase. Of the 16 EOIs that proceeded to full project application, 17 per-cent fall into the create category, 11 per-cent into growing, 69 per-cent into making and three percent into selling. Pulse crops were the main commodity in more than half the projects, followed by canola, hemp and cereals. The value of the 38 projects submitted totalled more than $300 million.
In addition to investing in technology projects, Protein Industries Canada will also invest approximately 12 per-cent of its budget into eight ecosystem priorities: Regulatory Reform; Indigenous Engagement; Talent and Skills; IP Literacy; Data and ICT Management; Global Brand and Trade; Infrastructure Enhancement and Access to Capital. There will not be an open call for these projects, but instead targeted requests to fill identified gaps and needs.
