May 24, 2023

 

Winner of US' United Soybean Board's challenge offers new approach to soymeal processing

 

 

 

The United States' United Soybean Board (USB), in partnership with the Yield Lab Institute, has announced Satavie as the winner of the 2023 Soy Innovation Challenge.

 

The competition called on entrepreneurs, innovators, startups and research teams to bring new ways to advance soybean meal use and demand in existing markets.

 

Satavie was selected out of nearly 80 applicants from around the world for their approach to extract concentrated soy protein from soybean meal. Its method ensures high levels of digestibility, improved nutrient absorption and increased feed conversion rates ideal for swine, poultry and aquaculture feed.

 

As the winner, the company received US$100,000 courtesy of the United Soybean Board and US$5,000 of in-kind technical services and credits from Amazon Web Services.

 

"The impact for the soy industry is enormous. Our water extraction patented technique leads to better health outcomes, overall growth and improved meat quality," said Satavie president Lasse Jakobsen. "It ultimately aids in digestion early on in animal diets to nutritionally set them up for success. This innovation expands market opportunities and opens up new sectors for US soybean farmers."

 

The Soy Innovation Challenge discovers new ways to utilise and add value to US soybeans. This year's contest focuses on strengthening soybean meal markets, as the supply of soybean meal continues to increase. This is primarily due to growing demand for soybean oil used as a feedstock for renewable energy.

 

"In reviewing all the applicants' proposals and hearing from these forward-thinking finalists, it reiterates that soy can be the solution for so many applications," said April Hemmes, USB farmer-leader, Demand Action Team chair and Soy Innovation Challenge judge. "These are four totally different ideas all using soybean meal. It's neat to see this sustainable product that US farmers grow bring an added value, which is a great way to invest soy checkoff dollars. Everyone is looking for a sustainable solution these days and US soy can be the answer."

 

Each finalist received a cash prize, mentoring and resources to help advance their ideas in the areas of technical, business and financial impact.

 

"I am proud of all of our finalists," said Brandon Day, chief operating officer of the Yield Lab Institute. "They have brought forth innovative solutions to solve some of the industry's biggest challenges. Because of our sponsors — USB, Amazon Web Services and Solis Agrosciences — and their continued support of these entrepreneurs, the trajectory and potential of these ideas bring new ways of thinking to the marketplace. They, in addition to our mentors and partners, have played an important role in accelerating their technologies to market."

 

The US$100,000 awarded to Satavie will be used to scale the company, verify the product in-market (similar to its use in Denmark and Canada) and start to build a customer base in the US. This includes bringing the technology into a facility to start processing US soybean meal creating the soy protein concentrate directly in the US.

 

The prize money for the other finalists will help commercialise their products/technologies to further the use of US soybean meal, additionally driving soy's reputation as a sustainable ingredient.

 

- USB

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