- Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) has contracted the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to develop Curtin University’s protein-from-lupin extraction process
- Curtin and the company will utilise CSIRO’s Food Innovation Centre’s food processing facilities to accelerate the extraction process
- CSIRO will initially produce food-grade lupin protein isolate
- Once this is completed, WOA and Curtin will investigate alternative meat, milk, egg and gluten-free products
- This project is costing roughly $115,000, with Wide Open funding $57,500 and the other half by the Industry Growth Centre — Food Innovation Australia
- Company shares are up a healthy 16.7 per cent and trading for 45.5 cents each
Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) has contracted the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to provide research services.
The main focus is to scale-up Curtin University’s novel protein extraction process from lupin seeds.
CSIRO is Australia’s national science agency. It has over 50 locations across Australia, France, Chile, Singapore, and the U.S., and employs around 6400 people.
WOA and Curtin will work with CSIRO’s Food Innovation Centre and utilise its pilot-plant food processing facilities to accelerate the scale-up of extracting protein from lupin. CSIRO will initially produce food-grade lupin protein isolate by using small-scale industrial processing equipment.
“Securing CSIRO for this project is a fantastic achievement. Having access to their advanced facilities and extensive expertise will allow us to accelerate and improve the production process and maintain a first-mover advantage in lupin-based products,” WOA Managing Director Dr Ben Cole said.
Once the protein extraction process is complete, the company and Curtin University will assess the functionality of the lupin protein to begin investigating alternative meat, milk, egg and gluten-free products.
Wide Open Agriculture will conduct in-house product development and explore commercial partnerships with global food companies.
CSIRO will also assess future commercial production viability and provide guidance on the production of lupin protein isolate.
The project’s value has been demonstrated through dollar-for-dollar grant funding from the Industry Growth Centre — Food Innovation Australia (FIAL). FIAL is a not-for-profit organisation who’s focused on growing the share of Australian food globally.
The total cost of the project is $115,000 with WOA committed to funding $57,500. The remaining $57,500 will be paid by FIAL.
Company shares are up a healthy 16.7 per cent and trading for 45.5 cents each at 10:15 am AEST.