Burcon forms joint venture to build pea, canola protein production plant
Burcon NutraScience has entered into a joint venture partnership with an investor group to build a new CAD $65 million pea-protein and canola-protein commercial production facility in Western Canada.
Burcon NutraScience has entered into a joint venture partnership with an investor group to build a new CAD $65 million pea-protein and canola-protein commercial production facility in Western Canada. The new operating entity, Burcon Functional Foods Corp., will own and operate the new protein production facility, which is planned to initially process approximately 20,000 tons of peas per year starting in mid-2020. It will produce Burcon’s Peazazz and Peazac pea proteins, as well as Burcon’s Supertein, Puratein, and Nutratein canola proteins.
As a standalone entity, the management, sales, marketing, and production personnel of Burcon Functional Foods will be direct employees of the new operating company. Burcon will be responsible for the technology transfer to Burcon Functional Foods and will also provide assistance (under contract) to support the design, construction, and commissioning of the commercial protein production facility.
“Today’s announcements constitute a truly transformative event for Burcon, and a new chapter in Burcon’s development focused on bringing the company’s unique plant proteins to market directly as a producer,” said Johann F. Tergesen, Burcon’s president and chief executive officer. “Having the capacity to produce both our unique pea proteins, as well as our canola proteins, in our own production facility is a key pillar of our differentiation strategy. The ability to blend our pea and canola proteins to create nutritionally unparalleled plant protein combinations, while preserving the highly desirable functional properties the proteins naturally possess, will give us a true competitive advantage.”