Innovating to secure the future
This is nothing new: Wallonia and Europe as a whole are still largely dependent on imports to meet all their plant protein needs. Against this backdrop, the ERDF WAL'PROT project was set up to encourage local researchers to develop new approaches that add value, as well as innovative, sustainable technological solutions for the sector's manufacturers.
Proteins of the future: a local synergy
WAL'PROT brings together four universities (ULiège, UCLouvain, ULB and UMons) and four research centres (CETIC, CRA-W, CER Groupe and CELABOR) working together on a range of themes, from the production of raw materials (dedicated crops, insects, algae), to the development of new ingredients and analytical methods, the recovery of non-protein fractions and the digitisation of processes.
The CRA-W at the heart of WAL'PROT
The CRA-W is using its expertise to contribute to this project at various levels. The first stage consists of creating a collection of samples of interest from dedicated cultures, which is made available to the entire consortium. Primary samples, sorting fractions or collected products from processing are measured on near-infrared spectroscopy instruments and characterised using reference methods in order to update or calibrate predictive composition models. In addition, the CRA-W is working on the development of innovative methods for sorting protein crops, to enhance the value of batches. Finally, one team is focusing on environmental and socio-economic Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of production or transformation processes. The project is also mapping existing initiatives and identifying the obstacles to, and levers for the development of these value chains.
Caption: Seed-to-seed optical sorting of peas with QSorter Explorer (QualySense, CH)
Funding: ERDF programming 2021-2027
