Submissions open for Protein Industries Canada’s Tech Leadership Project program

Protein Industries Canada is opening their third call for proposals under their Technology Leadership Project program stream. The call, which will close on May 22, 2024, is for projects that will further strengthen Canada’s position in ingredient manufacturing and food processing. Up to $40 million is available for co-investment into eligible projects.

“It has become clear that ingredient manufacturing and food processing is a critical economic sector for Canada. Not only can it generate up to $25 billion a year in new economic activity for communities across our country, but it will also create jobs and create new markets for our farmers and their crops,” CEO of Protein Industries Canada Bill Greuel said. “More so, it is an industry that will always be important — the need for food will always exist, and as a country we need to support industries that can provide resilient growth and sustainability.”

The call is focused on projects that will have measurable outcomes related to the development, scale-up and commercialization of innovations in:

• germplasm development with an aim to improve protein content, processing efficiency, quality, sensory characteristics and the development of novel ingredients;
• ingredient manufacturing;
• food processing;
• feed products; and
• co-product development.

Expressions of interest (EOIs) for projects may be submitted until May 22, 2024. However, consortiums are encouraged to submit their EOIs as soon as they are ready. EOIs will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, allowing successful submissions to move to the next step in the process in a timely manner.

“With this next call, we are looking for projects that focus on whole seed utilization and value capture– whether that be as an ingredient for use in a finished food product, feed or a co-product. The value for Canada lies in maximizing the value of our unique crop rotation,” Greuel said.

EOIs will be accepted from consortiums of at least three partners, one of which must be an SME. Projects must include the use of a high-protein dryland crop such as lentils, peas, canola, fava, oat, or soy. Approved projects may receive up to 45 per cent reimbursement of eligible costs.

Interested consortiums are asked to visit https://www.proteinindustriescanada.ca/technology and fill out the form at the bottom of the page. If the project meets initial eligibility requirements, a member from Protein Industries Canada’s Project team will reach out to schedule a preliminary meeting. This first meeting must be held prior to an EOI being submitted.

In addition to opening the third call for Technology Leadership Projects, Protein Industries Canada is also moving to a continual intake for projects under the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Program Stream (PCAIS). Projects under this program stream should consider the application of artificial intelligence to support innovations in areas such as genetics, improvements in primary production, sustainability, ingredient and food formulation, quality assurance and quality control. Projects will be accepted until Aug. 30, 2024, or until funds are fully committed. More information can be found at https://www.proteinindustriescanada.ca/artificial-intelligence.