Strengthening the Capacity of Excellence Hubs of Türkiye, Greece, and Ukraine to Support Innovation Ecosystem of Novel Foods Based on Plant Proteins

ongoing

Three key global drivers underpin the increased interest in plant protein-based diets: population-growth, important role of proteins in a healthy diet, and the environmental impact of animal-based food chains. While an increasing trend in proportion of plant sources included in diet is obvious, the current generation of commercial plant-based alternatives is suboptimal. Therefore, more research is needed to develop mild processing techniques for plant proteins and to obtain a comprehensive understanding on the impact of plant proteins on technological and nutritional functionality. Addressing current challenges and shortcomings, Excel4Pro aims to support, with underpinning research and knowledge exchange, the capacity of the national Excellence Hubs of Türkiye, Greece, and Ukraine as a regional launch pad for plant-protein-based novel food economies. Excel4Pro will be used as a critical tool to connect and scale up the strategically selected plant-based protein ecosystems in a single, interconnected and cross-border Excellence Hub dedicated to growing and changing the agri-food sector in Türkiye, Greece and Ukraine by developing novel food products based on plant-based proteins. Collaborative R&I strategies, mentoring programmes, action plans to attract dedicated investment, and an array of upskilling activities for researchers and entrepreneurs will help close knowledge gaps between place-based innovation ecosystems and support the development of more sustainable food systems. Excel4Pro's consortium contains 17 partners (4 Academic, 8 Business, 2 Public Authorities, and 3 Societal Actors) that are well balanced and fully completes the quadruple helix. Excel4Pro is a 4 years project with 6 carefully designed Work Packages that efficiently exploit the consortium's diverse knowledge and expertise to develop solutions to Global Challenges in line with EUGreen Deal, the Farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environment-friendly food system.