YEAST2VALUE is an EU-funded circular economy innovation project focused on transforming brewer’s spent yeast (BSY), a major by-product of beer production, into high-value protein ingredients for the food, feed, and biotechnology industries.
Every year, over 1 million tons of brewers’ spent yeast are produced across Europe. Most of this biomass is currently treated as waste or used as low-value animal feed, creating both environmental and economic challenges.
YEAST2VALUE addresses this by implementing a novel, AI-supported circular value chain that connects breweries, bioprocessing companies, and market adopters, turning industrial waste into valuable resources.
Key Objectives
- Design and implement a circular value chain for brewer’s spent yeast valorisation, connecting BSY producers, up-cyclers, and protein manufacturers.
- Replicate and scale the circular model across Europe using AI-driven value chain mapping tools (VCG.AI).
- Assess environmental and economic impact through CIRCULOOS sustainability tools (GRETA, RAMP).
- Develop a circular business model demonstrating profitability, scalability, and cross-sector collaboration.
VCG.AI’s Role
The YEAST2VALUE project combines bioprocessing innovation, industrial collaboration, and AI-powered value chain design.
VCG.AI provides the digital backbone, its proprietary data platform that brings together real-time intelligence on material flows, markets, technologies, and strategic partnerships across the value chain.
For this project, the platform delivers:
- Data from breweries (e.g., Lobik) on BSY generation, location, and composition.
- Processing and product data from ProteinDistillery’s bioprocessing operations.
- AI-based matching to identify the most efficient connections between BSY sources, upcycling facilities, and downstream protein markets.
This approach allows the consortium to design the optimal configuration of the value chain before physical implementation, minimising risk and ensuring efficient resource use.
Environmental and Economic Impact
YEAST2VALUE aims to close the loop in the brewing and protein industries by:
- Upcycling up to 5.000 tons of BSY annually
- Avoiding 12.000 tons of CO₂e emissions
- Saving €600.000 in disposal costs
- Producing sustainable proteins that can replace imported soy and dairy ingredients
- Reducing reliance on resource-intensive virgin materials
Alignment with the Circular Economy
YEAST2VALUE directly supports the CIRCULOOS initiative and the EU’s Green Deal objectives by:
- Extending product lifecycles through upcycling and repurposing
- Replacing imported raw materials with local, renewable waste streams
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and industrial waste
- Creating a replicable model for circular supply chains across Europe
Partners and Technologies
Lobik Brewery (Slovenia) – Brewer’s spent yeast producer
ProteinDistillery (Germany) – Patented BSY-to-protein upcycling technology
VCG.AI (Germany) – AI-driven circular value chain design and intelligence platform
CIRCULOOS tools (RAMP, GRETA) – Environmental and supply chain assessment frameworks
Key Outcomes
- Validated, AI-enabled circular value chain for BSY upcycling
- Proven technical and economic feasibility for sustainable protein production
- Circular business model for replication in the EU brewing and protein sectors
- Reduced carbon emissions, resource use, and supply chain dependency
Summary
YEAST2VALUE demonstrates how circular economy principles, AI technology, and industrial collaboration can convert waste into economic and environmental value. By linking breweries, biotech innovators, and digital platforms, the project creates a scalable model for local, low-impact protein production that strengthens Europe’s food security and sustainability.
More information about the project: https://circuloos.eu/
