Uralchem and Skolkovo announced the winners of the Pea Challenge

Skolkovo Innovation center hosted the finals of Pea Challenge — the competition of startups, developing technologies for processing and manufacturing products from yellow peas. Uralchem Innovation (part of Uralchem) has provided winners with an opportunity to implement pilot projects and receive consultations from the company’s experts specialized in the development of their startups.

15 projects participated in the final of the competition, most of which are related to the production of alternative food based on plant proteins, including sports nutrition, bars, cheese, milk, chocolate, and even ice cream. Among the announced technologies also were 3D-bioprinting from pea protein, bioconversion of secondary products of pea processing into protein concentrates of increased feed value, and processing of plant waste.

“Vegetable proteins will occupy 25% of the market for consumption of edible protein by 2040 (only 40% of the market will be represented by traditional cattle breeding and 35% by cultivated meat). Russia is currently the second-largest producer and exporter of peas, but there is no production of pea isolate in the country. Uralchem Innovation is developing a technology for the extraction and modification of pea protein, and we plan that the solutions and technologies found within the framework of the competition will be applied in our researches,” said Anna Nenakhova, General Director of Uralchem ​​Innovation.