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International Zeolite and CoTec Holdings Announce Strategic Alliance
CoTec Holdings Making Anchor Investment to Accelerate Commercialization of International Zeolite's Revolutionary Proprietary NEREA(R) Fertilizer Technology
International Zeolite Corp. ( TSXV: IZ) (OTCQB: IZCFF) (FSE: ZEON) ("IZ") and CoTec Holdings Corp. (TSXV: CTH) ("CoTec") are pleased to announce that CoTec has agreed to make a $2 million strategic investment in IZ to support its go-to-market activities in the agricultural and green tech segments.
CoTec and IZ share similar visions and objectives and are focused on creating a portfolio of green disruptive technologies that are high-margin, eco-friendly and deliver reductions in carbon emissions. The investment from CoTec is expected to fast track IZ's ability to move rapidly to full commercialization, marketing and sales capabilities for its disruptive agricultural products and solutions. The funding will support the construction of IZ's first NEREA® production facility to be in Ontario, Canada with an expected completion date of March 2023. In addition to its financial investment, CoTec will support IZ through the involvement of its management team, who collectively have extensive global reach and expertise in green technologies.
"We are excited to partner with IZ and support their efforts to commercialize its proprietary NEREA® technology," commented Mr. Julian Treger, CEO of CoTec. "Fertilizer is a major contributor to global CO2 emissions and NEREA® is exactly the type of breakthrough the agricultural industry needs to reduce its carbon footprint - independent studies have shown that it could improve the efficacy of fertilizer by a factor of up to eight and reduce plant and crop growth cycles by as much as twenty-five per cent. Additionally, at a time of conflict in Ukraine, NEREA® could significantly reduce the Western world's fertilizer needs and its exposure to higher risk jurisdictions for much needed supply. Our investment will give us a substantial interest in IZ, and we intend to work closely with the IZ management team to help them aggressively roll out this exciting technology."
"We are very pleased to partner with CoTec and are excited to commence the commercialization of NEREA® products" said Ray Paquette, IZ CEO. "Once our products are established in Canada, we will roll it out to the other jurisdictions where we have secured exclusivity."
NEREA®
NEREA® is IZ's proprietary on demand grow system designed for all agricultural sectors: nurseries, greenhouses, horticultural growers, and outdoor growers. It imbeds into zeolite particles all the macronutrients and micronutrients needed by plants to grow healthy and effectively. It is a demand driven system that allows plants to receive nutrients based on their need and at the time the plant needs it. Independent trials and validation studies show that NEREA® decreases crop time resulting in additional crops for growers thus increasing grower ROI, reduces the overall requirements for fertilizer by up to 80% resulting in much lower input costs for growers, and reduces greenhouse gases significantly through the reduction of fertilizer consumption. IZ has secured the rights to manufacture, market and sell NEREA® in Canada and the United States for a period of 20 years from approval of the NEREA® intellectual property in the relevant jurisdictions and global exclusivity arrangements are pending.
Transaction Terms
CoTec has signed a subscription agreement to purchase 13,333,334 units ("Units") from IZ on a private placement basis at a price of $0.15 per unit for an aggregate subscription of $2,000,0000 (the "Private Placement"). King Chapel International ("Kings Chapel"), a company associated with Mr. Treger, is also a party to the agreement and will subscribe for 2,000,000 Units, providing IZ with aggregate subscription proceeds of $2,300,000. Each Unit will consist of one common share of the company (each, a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable for one Common Share at a price of $0.18 for 12 months from the closing date, which if exercised provides an additional $2,760,000 in operating capital for IZ.
$170,000 of the net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to repay shareholder loans owing to Ray Paquette, the CEO of the company, and his affiliates, and the balance will be used to fund the commercialization of NEREA products for manufacturing, marketing and sales in Canada and for working capital purposes.
Pursuant to the subscription agreement, CoTec and Kings Chapel have each agreed to provide up to $300,000 in bridge loan funding to IZ (together the "Bridge Loan"). CoTec agreed to advance its funding concurrently with the execution of the Subscription Agreement and Kings Chapel will advance its Bridge Loan upon the satisfactory completion of its due diligence review of IZ. The Bridge Loan bears interest at 7% per annum and is repayable on the earlier of November 21, 2024, closing of the Private Placement and a change of control of IZ. The Bridge Loan is secured by a first ranking charge in favour of CoTec over all of IZ's assets. Amounts outstanding under the Bridge Loan will be credited towards the amount payable by CoTec and Kings Chapel upon completion of the Private Placement.
Upon completion of the Private Placement:
- CoTec and IZ will enter into an investor rights agreement pursuant to which CoTec will have customary pre-emptive rights to participate in future equity issuances by IZ and the right to appoint two members of IZ's board of directors;
- CoTec and Ray Paquette, the CEO and a director of IZ, will enter into a debenture call agreement pursuant to which CoTec will have the right to purchase all or any part of the Convertible Debentures (as defined below) at a price equal to 100% of the outstanding principal amount under the purchased Convertible Debentures at any time or from time to time until July 31, 2023; and
- CoTec will own 23.6% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares and 38.1% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis (assuming the exercise of all of its Warrants).
As required by the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), IZ will seek disinterested shareholder approval at its annual and special shareholder meeting to be held on January 4, 2023 for a resolution to approve CoTec or Kings Chapel becoming a "control person" of IZ. The directors and officers of IZ, who currently own 20.6% of the outstanding Common Shares, have agreed to vote all of their Common Shares in favour of this resolution.
Completion of the Private Placement is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of IZ shareholder approval and all necessary TSXV approvals, CoTec completing its due diligence investigations of IZ and being satisfied with the results of such investigations in its sole discretion, receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals for the sale of NEREA® in the United States, the absence of any material adverse effect in respect of IZ and other customary conditions.
Debt Exchange
Ray Paquette, the CEO and a director of IZ, and an affiliated company currently hold two promissory notes of IZ in the original principal amounts of $243,000 and $793,000 respectively (the "Promissory Notes"). As of November 14, 2022, the aggregate amounts owing under the Promissory Notes (including accrued and unpaid interest) was $266,061.70 and $881,261.54, respectively. In addition, IZ currently owes an affiliated company of Mr. Paquette $108,000 in unpaid management fees. Mr. Paquette and IZ have entered into a debt exchange agreement pursuant to which IZ's obligations under the Promissory Notes and the unpaid management fees will be satisfied in exchange for the issuance to Mr. Paquette and his affiliated company of convertible debentures in the aggregate principal amount of $1,255,323.23 (the "Convertible Debentures").
Each Convertible Debenture will bear interest at the prime rate of interest published by Royal Bank of Canada + 2%. The Convertible Debenture held by Mr. Paquette will be payable in five equal annual instalments starting on June 30, 2023, and ending on June 30, 2027. The Convertible Debenture held by Mr. Paquette's affiliated company will be payable in two equal annual instalments on June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2024. The principal amount outstanding under the Convertible Debentures will also be convertible, at any time and from time to time, at the option of the holder, into Common Shares based on a conversion price of $0.15 per share, subject to customary adjustments.
The debt exchange transaction and the issuance of the Convertible Debentures is subject to TSXV approval. The debt exchange transaction is a related-party transaction as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101"). Because IZ's shares trade only on the TSXV, the issuance of the Convertible Debentures is exempt from the formal valuation requirements of Section 5.4 of MI 61-101 pursuant to Subsection 5.5(b) of MI 61-101 and exempt from the minority approval requirements of Section 5.6 of MI 61-101 pursuant to Subsection 5.7(a) of MI 61-101.
All securities issued under the Private Placement and the debt exchange transaction are subject to a hold period of four months plus a day, in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSXV.
On Behalf of the Board of International Zeolite Corp.
"Ray Paquette"
CEO
604.684.3301
On Behalf of the Board of CoTec Holdings Corp.
"Braam Jonker"
CFO
604.992.5600
About International Zeolite
International Zeolite's mission is to produce a line of high-value top-tier performance natural zeolite products and solutions. We believe that real change comes from the ground up. Our focused aim is to utilize the naturally occurring zeolite mineral to innovate commercial agriculture, industry and consumer practices that outperform their competition, and are better for the environment and world populations. Our purpose-driven zeolite solutions represent a new era of earth conscious environmental science that will relentlessly seek to transform agriculture, industry, and households to safer, sustainable, superior means of operation.
International Zeolite is a publicly traded issuer listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and trades under the symbol IZ.V
For further information, please visit www.internationalzeolite.com or contact Ray Paquette - (604) 684.3301
For Investor Inquiries:
info@internationalzeolite.com
For Sales and Commercial Inquiries:
sales@earthinnovations.ca
About CoTec
CoTec is an ESG-focused company investing in innovative technologies that have the potential to fundamentally change the way metals and minerals can be extracted and processed for the purpose of applying those technologies to undervalued operating assets and recycling opportunities, as the Company seeks to transition into a mid-tier mineral resource producer. The Company is committed to supporting the transition to a lower carbon future for the extraction industry, a sector on the cusp of a green revolution as it embraces technology and innovation.
CoTec is a publicly traded investment issuer listed on the Toronto Venture Stock Exchange and trades under the symbol CTH.V
For further information, please visit www.cotec.ca or contact Braam Jonker - (604) 992-5600.
Please join CoTec CEO, Julian Treger, and IZ CEO, Mark Pearlman on Friday, November 25, 2022 at 8:00AM PST for further information on this exciting investment opportunity. Click this link https://my.6ix.com/aIx5t8G4 to register for the event.
Forward-Looking Information
Statements in this press release regarding IZ, CoTec, their respective businesses, the Private Placement and related transactions which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements relating to IZ's proposed commercialization of its NEREA®, the benefits and potential impact of NEREA®, the construction of IZ's proposed NEREA® production facility and completion and the anticipated benefits of the Private Placement. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. For further details regarding risks and uncertainties facing IZ please refer to its public disclosure documents, copies of which may be found under IZ's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. For further details regarding risks and uncertainties facing CoTec please refer to "Risk Factors" in CoTec's filing statement dated April 6, 2022, as well as its other public disclosure documents, copies of which may be found under CoTec's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Gassaat Permit Approved Landmark MOU Signed with Tunisian Government and EBRD
In a major breakthrough, PhosCo Ltd (ASX: PHO) (‘PhosCo’ or ‘the Company’) is pleased to announce that the CCM has approved Gassaat and that the Company has entered a ground-breaking memorandum of understanding (non-binding) with the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (the Ministry), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Gassaat permit approved
- The Consultative Committee of Mines (CCM) has approved the Gassaat Phosphate Exploration Permit (100% PhosCo).
- Gassaat encapsulates the Chaketma Phosphate Mineral Resource Estimate of 146Mt @ 20.6% P2O51 as well as additional phosphate targets immediately north of the deposit.
- Gassaat is key to developing Tunisia’s Northern Phosphate Basin with formal grant now pending subject to final approval by the Ministry of National Defence and publication in the gazette.
- Gassaat project is aligning on the social agenda of the Tunisian government and aim to include local communities as partners of the project through community companies.
- The news comes following the CCM approval of nearby Sekarna (also 100% PhosCo) last month, the first ever phosphate permit authorised at 100% to a foreign investor, where formal gazetting is expected imminently.
MOU signed with Tunisian Government and EBRD
- PhosCo has signed a non-binding MoU with the Tunisian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to collaborate on exploring and developing Tunisia’s Northern Phosphate basin hub, as well as study processing technology to convert phosphogypsum into inert materials.
- The MOU also has a strong focus on enhancing regional development through well structured support to communities and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
- The pioneering agreement signed by the Tunisian government is a first for the country’s phosphate industry and will see PhosCo work with EBRD for financing of the feasibility study and development of a financing package for the Project.
MOU signing ceremony at the Ministry of Industry, Mines & Energy.
PhosCo Managing Director, Taz Aldaoud commented:
“We are deeply honoured by the trust placed in us by the Tunisian government, as evidenced by the approval of PhosCo’s Gassaat permit application and the signing of the MOU with PhosCo and EBRD. This marks a significant milestone in advancing Gassaat and Tunisia’s Northern Phosphate Basin.
The Gassaat permit is pivotal in realising our vision for a regional phosphate processing hub. The MOU formalises our excellent relationship with EBRD and the Tunisian Government, establishing a collaborative framework to support the region’s development. We’re already seeing the immediate benefits of this partnership through meaningful cooperation between all parties involved.
We’re particularly mindful of the critical role phosphate plays in addressing global food security concerns. This project not only aligns with that crucial need but also emphasises our commitment to positive community impact. Local support and meaningful community participation are cornerstone elements of our strategy to develop Tunisia’s Northern Phosphate Basin.
This collaborative effort, backed by the Government and EBRD, underscores our shared commitment to responsible development that benefits the local community, the region, and contributes to global food security. We’re excited about the potential this project holds and are committed to its successful and sustainable implementation.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Phosco Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Quarterly Report for the Period Ended 30 September 2024
Wide Open Agriculture Limited (ASX: WOA, "Wide Open Agriculture" or the "Company") is pleased to present the Company’s Quarterly Activity Report for the three-month period ending 30 September 2024.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Group-wide cost reduction to preserve funds for future growth
- Engaging potential fee-based toll treatment partners to increase German facility utilisation and efficiency
- Board renewal and change of premise
The September quarter saw the Company streamline its business operations as part of ongoing cost reduction measures. The goal was to preserve capital and support commercialising the Company’s globally patented plant-protein products. Company management continues to engage with potential channel partners and explore strategic opportunities for future growth.
WOA’s German Production Team in preparation for toll production at the Facility
Seeking Industry Partnership and Global Commercialisation Opportunities
Following the acquisition of Prolupin GmbH in Grimmen, Germany, the Company focused on commercialising its production facilities, patented IP, and in-house expertise to attract and strengthen its channel to market. For example, the company completed trials with toll treatment clients and entered discussions with several food manufacturers and distributors.
WOA continues investigating strategic partnerships and opportunities to mitigate German operational costs while the facility is underutilised.
Strategic Cost Review and Quarterly Cashflow Report Commentary
WOA has undertaken a comprehensive operational review to reduce its ongoing costs, preserve capital, and reset the business for future growth.
As part of cost-reduction measures, WOA relocated its head office and R&D facility and closed its pilot plant, which is expected to save over $600,000 for the 2024/25 financial year.
At the end of the quarter, the Company had cash at the bank of approximately $3.4 million.
During this quarter, the Company incurred a total net operating cash outflow of $1.7 million, with essential items comprising:
- Administration and corporate costs of $894k, previously incurred by the Company and paid during the September quarter. These include one-off legal and advisory costs related to the divestment of the Dirty Clean Food business. The Company is reviewing all key service agreements and making necessary changes. It expects administration and corporate costs to reduce further in the following quarter as management maintains its efficiency focus.
- $429k as a once-off factory retrofit for the trial production of BP80 and research and development activities of new lupin protein applications for the Germany facility; and
- Staff costs amounted to $407k, reduced by 60% compared to the previous June 2024 quarter. After the September quarter, further staff reduction measures were implemented, which will be reflected in costs for the upcoming quarters.
Research & Development Activities
WOA continued its research and development activities, exploring new market applications for its lupin protein products and enhancing production protocols to improve yield in the manufacturing process.
Completed Capital Raise
In July 2024, the Company completed the second tranche of its share placement to sophisticated investors and a priority offer to shareholders to raise an additional $620k. The Company received strong support from new and existing investors.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Wide Open Agriculture, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
WOA Relocates Headquarters & Enhances German Facility Utilisation
Wide Open Agriculture Limited (ASX: WOA, "Wide Open Agriculture" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a series of initiatives aimed at streamlining operations and reducing costs.
Highlights
- Wide Open Agriculture has relocated its head office and R&D facility to a new location in Leederville, Western Australia, enhancing access to commercial services and significantly reducing costs
- The Company has successfully completed two toll treatment trials at its German facility, producing high-quality plant-based protein products
- WOA is actively exploring potential fee-based toll treatment partnerships to strengthen collaboration within the plant-based protein sector, and increase utilisation of its German facility
- The Company remains focused on streamlining operations to support long-term growth and financial sustainability
WOA Germany employees preparing for a toll production run
Relocation and Cost-Saving Initiatives
The Company has relocated its head office and R&D facility from Kewdale to a more strategically positioned location at 2/284 Oxford Street, Leederville, Western Australia. The new Leederville office offers a more cost-effective solution while providing convenient access to key commercial services. The Company has also conducted a review of corporate costs as part of its cost reduction efforts.
WOA is currently reviewing options to relocate the pilot plant to a new facility.
German Facility Update and Operational Review
WOA has conducted a comprehensive review of its German production facility operations and costs, with the goal of improving operational efficiency and to address facility underutilisation to date, caused by a long procurement cycle in the food industry. In line with this review, the Company successfully completed two toll treatment trials for local plant-based protein companies which resulted in the production of high-quality protein products, showcasing the facility's capabilities to potential customers.
The Company is actively pursuing additional fee-based toll treatment services and fostering commercial relationships with other plant-based protein companies, while it maintains a strict focus on facility costs.
Yaxi Zhan, Non-Executive Chair said; "While the Company continues to demonstrate its capabilities in the plant-based protein sector and build its customer pipeline for the Grimmen facility, we will continue to optimise our operations and reduce costs where possible. Our ongoing focus will be on efficiency as we seek to deliver long-term value for our shareholders.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Wide Open Agriculture, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Wide Open Agriculture Ltd (ASX: WOA) – Reinstatement to Quotation
Description
The suspension of trading in the securities of Wide Open Agriculture Ltd (‘WOA’) will be lifted from the commencement of trading tomorrow, 3 September 2024 following lodgement of its 2024 Preliminary Final Report.
Issued by
ASX Compliance
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Wide Open Agriculture, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Preliminary Final Report for the Year Ended 30 June 2024 Appendix 4E
RESULTS FOR ANNOUNCEMENT TO MARKET
Financial Commentary and Operations
The Company recorded a loss after tax for the year ended 30 June 2024 of $12.7 million, which was a reduction in loss to the prior year of approximately $1.9 million.
The Company underwent a transition during the financial year, with the divestment of its Dirty Clean Food business in order to reduce costs and to focus on commercialising its next generation plant-protein product portfolio based on property IP.
As part of this strategic focus, the Company purchased a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located in Germany, including technical infrastructure and staff. This facility has the ability and capacity to produce multiple plant proteins at commercial scale. Further, the Company has undertaken a review of costs, in order to preserve funds from its capital raising announced in May 2024, while it continues market development and sales efforts for its lupin and plant-proteins.
Dividends
No dividends were paid during the financial year (2023: Nil).
NET TANGIBLE ASSETS
DISCONTINUED ENTITIES / OPERATIONS
The Company disposed of its fully owned subsidiary, Dirty Clean Food Pty Ltd (“DCF”) on 23 April 2024 as part of the sale of the ‘Dirty Clean Food’ business during the financial year.
Contribution of DCF to the Company’s (loss) from ordinary activities before income tax during the period was $7,280,903.
ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
The financial statements cover Wide Open Agriculture Ltd and its subsidiaries as a consolidated entity (Group). Wide Open Agriculture Ltd is a company limited by shares, incorporated and domiciled in Australia and are dated 1 September 2024.
This preliminary final report Wide Open Agriculture Ltd has been prepared in accordance with ASX Listing Rule 4.3A and the disclosure requirements of ASX Appendix 4E.
This report is to be read in conjunction with any public announcements made by the Company during the reporting period in accordance with the continuous disclosure requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 and Australian Securities Exchange Listing Rules.
The preliminary final report has been prepared in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards (including Australian Accounting Interpretations) other authoritative pronouncements of the Australian Accounting Standards Board and the Corporations Act 2001.
AUDIT REPORT
The preliminary final report is based on financial statements which are in the process of being audited.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Wide Open Agriculture, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Wide Open Agriculture
Investor Insight
A Bloomberg Intelligence report shows the plant-based market could make up to 7.7 percent of the global protein market by 2030, with a value of over $235 billion, up from US$42.7 billion in 2020. Wide Open Agriculture’s value proposition combines technology with the benefits of lupin to create a range of powerful and sustainable plant-based protein products that can leverage a booming market.
Overview
Wide Open Agriculture (ASX:WOA,FRA:2WO) is an ag-tech company based in Australia, focusing on the next generation of plant protein ingredients for food and drink manufacturers globally. The company is focused on harnessing the benefits of lupin as a sustainable and powerful source of protein, offering it as an alternative to traditional plant-based protein products such as soy and pea.
Lupin is increasingly recognized as a valuable plant-based superfood, recognized for their high protein and dietary fibre content, making them a valuable addition to human nutrition. On the sustainability front, lupins have the ability to enrich soil fertility, thereby supporting more environmentally friendly agricultural practices. Their role in crop rotation and their nitrogen-fixing abilities contribute to reduced reliance on synthetic fertilizers, promoting better land management and sustainability. Using lupin-based protein ingredients helps improve manufacturers’ environmental credentials, as well.
Key to WOA’s value proposition is its patented ag-tech process that turns lupins into a superfood, producing a protein ingredient that enables food manufacturers to improve and replace traditional ingredients by eliminating the need for sugars and other artificial additives. WOA’s Buntine Protein is a breakthrough product, offering the most neutral-tasting plant-based protein in the market and allowing food manufacturers to create ‘clean label’ food and drink products. Traditional soy-based and pea-based ingredients often require additional ingredients, like sugars and additives, to make them palatable to consumers.
Company Highlights
- Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) is focused on developing cleaner, better quality and more functional alternatives to current plant-based protein sources.
- WOA plans to leverage its patented agritech process to create protein-rich, lupin-based products and ingredients that do not contain additives like sweeteners, gums and stabilizers traditionally used with conventional soy-based or pea-based proteins.
- Overall, the products created by WOA are cleaner tasting and more functional. The company’s main goal remains to bring its lupin protein isolate, called Buntine Protein® to market as quickly and cost effectively as possible.
- Over the next six to nine months, WOA will work with food companies to get products to market and ramp up production at its world class manufacturing facility in Germany.
Key Products and Process
Through IP licenced from Curtin University in 2020, WOA has worked towards commercializing the IP at scale, combining it with the company’s deep knowledge of lupin protein extraction and processing. As a result, WOA has developed a range of products that provide a healthier, more sustainable alternative to traditional soy-based or pea-based protein products.
WOA opened a pilot production plant early in 2023 to produce its eco-friendly Buntine Protein. The technology targets a constituent part of lupin that allows it to increase the proteins’ ability to blend and mix with other food ingredients.
In October 2023, WOA purchased European lupin protein-isolate producer Prolupin GmbH. The $4.3-million acquisition gives WOA immediate access to commercial-scale manufacturing capacity. Having a foothold in Germany will also help WOA get its Buntine Protein to a wider market. The sale includes Prolupin’s German manufacturing facility and the patents to produce the Prolupin protein isolate.
The German facility has the capacity to produce 500 tons per year of lupin-protein concentrate with the ability to expand production to 1,000 tons per year, with an investment of $3 to $5 million within the next one to two years. Prolupin’s technology will also help diversify and enhance WOA’s lupin-product catalogue, with the capability to produce protein-rich lupin isolates, a protein concentrate in wet form, and a lupin oil.
WOA’s proprietary lupin-based protein ingredients have been successfully integrated into third-party consumer products in Australia and the US. CHONK vegan cookies, sold in Australia, is a gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free and dairy-free treat that uses Buntine Protein as an ingredient. In the US, WOA’s Prolupin isolate LP90 has been integrated into Superitalia’s Instant Superfood Cappuccino brand.
After an extensive R&D program, WOA’s new lupin fibre product, designed for the dietary fibre market projected to reach $16.3 billion by 2032, is now also ready for commercialization.
This year, the company plans to: 1) increase sales by working with international food manufacturers and brands; and 2) monetize co-products like lupin-oil and lupin fibre.
Management Team
Yaxi Zhan - Non-executive Director and Chairperson
Yaxi Zhan is an experienced executive with over 17 years of experience across startups, large-scale mining operations and ASX-listed companies. With strong connections in the Australian and Chinese business communities, Zhan is recognised for her business acumen and efficiency across diverse business and cultural environments. She is the founder and former managing director of Accelerate Resources Limited (ASX:AX8).
Anthony (Maz) Maslin - Non-executive Director
Anthony Maslin is an entrepreneur and social change visionary, driven by bringing new meaning and hope to environmental and community projects.
Joanne Ford - Non-executive Director
Joanne Ford is an experienced director and executive, with over 30 years of experience in ASX and international listed groups, start-ups and not-for-profit companies.
Beverley Nichols - Interim Chief Financial Officer
Beverley Nichols is a qualified certified practicing accountant with more than 15 years of experience, serving as the CFO of ASX listed companies across industries. Her extensive experience in financial reporting, regulatory compliance, and finance management will enhance the company's financial operations and support its strategic objectives.
Merilyn Elson - Product Strategy and Innovation Manager
Merilyn Elson’s background is in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, where she worked for a WA family-owned food manufacturer for over 30 years.
Hayder Al-Ali – Senior Food Scientist
During Hayder AL-Ali's PhD program, he worked extensively on optimizing lupin protein extractability, techno-functionality and palatability.
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