Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) says its pre-feasibility study (PFS) into constructing a 10,000 tonne per annum lupin protein isolate facility in Western Australia comes as it reaches near capacity operations in its Germany plant and sales gather momentum.
The study will define the process design, operating model, and financial returns at large commercial scale. WOA said it will also provide the robust technical and economic data required by governments, strategic investors and industry partners.
The PFS will be led by the company’s in-house and German technical teams in collaboration with food engineering business, Process Partners. MO Consultants will complete the independent review and compilation.
The study is expected to take six months, with the company saying it marks a major step in moving the company from early commercialisation to full-scale production readiness.
It was four years ago WOA announced it was building a pilot manufacturing facility in Western Australia for $1.6 million and since then, it has launched Buntine Protein, a protein isolate from lupins.
It has acquired commercial scale manufacturing assets in Europe, which made it the world’s largest producer of lupin protein.
And has started looking at using its proprietary tech to develop functionally enhanced protein isolates from pea and faba beans.
WOA said the PFS will position the company to move beyond small-scale sales and pilot programs, into a position of unlocking long-term growth.
“WOA is selling at a significant premium to pea and soy protein – a premium that customers are willing to pay because of lupin protein’s functionality, clean label appeal and sustainability credentials. However, it is estimated that a facility of this size would drastically reduce production costs and increase margins, enabling lupin protein to be priced on par with pea and soy while maintaining its differentiated qualities.
“This shift is critical. Competing directly on cost with the dominant global protein sources opens the door to mass adoption. It allows WOA to move from serving innovative, early-adopter companies to partnering with major multinationals that require both price competitiveness and large, reliable supply.
“With Western Australia producing more than 80 per cent of the world’s sweet lupins, and with direct access to Asian growth markets, the state is uniquely positioned to anchor this transformation and become the global hub for lupin protein production,” the company said.
WOA chair, Yaxi Zhan, said, “This will be more than a manufacturing plant. It will be the foundation of an entirely new food category, capable of helping address the global protein deficit while delivering economic growth, environmental regeneration and improved human health.
If it is in Western Australia, the project and its facility positions Western Australia as a global hub for lupin-based protein production. With significant scale and long-term growth potential, the project offers a competitive advantage in a rapidly expanding sector.”
