Valogen Biosciences: Transforming agricultural by-products into high-value peptides
Valogen's pioneering bioprocessing technology, supported by the BDC, is creating value by utilising often discarded agricultural by-products as feedstock for sustainable solutions that benefit multiple industries while addressing environmental concerns.
In UK manufacturing, by-products are often discarded or directed to low-value applications. One such underutilised resource is oilseed rape (OSR) meal — the residual material left after extracting rapeseed oil. Despite its high protein content, it has traditionally been used as animal feed, failing to capitalise on its full potential.
Valogen Biosciences recognised this opportunity, focusing on transforming OSR meal into high-value peptide materials for medical, personal care, and nutritional markets. Their challenge was to extract and process bioactive peptides — the "sweet spot" between whole proteins and individual amino acids — while scaling from laboratory to commercial production.
Accelerating pilot plant success
Since 2021, the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) has been central to Valogen's progress. Adaptable facilities and an expert bioprocessing team allowed Valogen to establish a functioning pilot plant in York, enabling process optimisation, scale-up, and generating data vital for securing future investment. Comprehensive analytical support has also helped Valogen build detailed product specifications, opening doors with prospective partners.
Harry Ross, CTO of Valogen, said: "The BDC has been instrumental — from technical expertise and pilot plant space to analytical capabilities that help us understand exactly what we're producing, turning low-value waste into innovative products."
From lab to market
Using private investment and Innovate UK grants, Valogen has demonstrated how hydrolysis of OSR meal proteins followed by purification can produce higher-value peptides at scale, showing versatility across cosmetics, food flavouring, and healthcare applications including wound healing and addressing age-related muscle loss.
Valogen is now working with BioYorkshire and the BDC to secure financing for a dedicated facility approximately ten times larger than their current pilot plant.
https://www.biorenewables.org/case-studies/valogen-biosciences-transforming-agricultural-by-products-into-high-value-peptides/
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