Ghent, Belgium
22 March 2024
Protealis, a leading seeds and seed technologies developer for sustainable plant proteins, today announces the launch of four new soy seed varieties. The company’s portfolio expansion includes first-time registrations in France and Germany. This underlines Protealis’ dedication to commercially expand its footprint in Europe, as announced on 23 January 2024 upon the successful conclusion of its EUR 22 million B-Round funding. All newly registered soybean varieties are from the very early 000 category, tailored to thrive in the colder, northern European climate. This aligns with Protealis’ mission to develop and commercialise legume crops that are better adapted to the European environment, facilitating the adoption of local soybean to novel and rapidly growing markets in Northern-Europe.
Protealis’ four new soy varieties - PRO Vesuvio, PRO Helicon, PRO Taranaki and PRO Jacinto – have been bred specifically to deliver both high yield and high protein content despite the shorter (colder) growing season in Northern Europe. These are essential traits for European farmers looking to switch from traditional break crops such as canola, to a more sustainable and profitable legume crop. The official variety trials in France, Belgium and Germany confirmed such enhanced performance in yield and/or protein compared to the commercially relevant checks[1]. The new varieties complement the existing soy seed portfolio of Artemis and Hermes, which immediately topped the official charts in Belgium upon launch in 2021.
Benjamin Laga, CEO of Protealis, commented: "We are excited to launch no less than four new soybean varieties this year, including first-time registrations in France and Germany. Registration procedures are rigorous and include the need to demonstrate both high performance and uniqueness of a variety. As such, the launch of these four new Protealis soybean varieties clearly demonstrates the high-quality product offering we are building for European farmers. As from now, we will be presenting these new varieties to several large B2B players in key expanding soybean markets, looking for premium soybean varieties for both the food and feed market.”
According to Donau Soja, a non-profit European independent multistakeholder organisation, the soy area in Europe has doubled in the past 10 years to over 5 million soy ha recorded in Europe in 2023[2], driven by its many benefits. Legume crops such as soy are an excellent source of protein for both the food and feed market. Soy can be grown sustainably since it does not require nitrogen fertilization. With their fibrous roots, legumes improve soil quality and are an excellent addition for farmers in any crop rotation and indispensable for regenerative agriculture.
In addition to soy, Protealis continues to advance its yellow pea breeding program and is investing in the development of supporting technology platforms focused on the prediction of for example crop yield and quality, based on a combination genetic fingerprinting and AI. This will allow the company to further accelerate the introduction of new and better protein crop varieties to the market.
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