PIP International, a Canadian-based agri-food company, is celebrating the opening of a new $20-million pea-processing pilot facility in Lethbridge.
In partnership with the federal government, Alberta's government awarded PIP $1 million through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to support engineering and the purchase of processing equipment for the pilot facility.
The facility, which was previously a mid-sized craft brewery, was converted into a fully commercialized pea-processing and testing centre.
As part of a two-phase project, the pilot facility is the first step in testing PIP's new innovative extraction technology that will significantly improve the quality, purity and environmental impact of the protein isolates before scaling up production.
The first phase of the project received funding through the Emerging Opportunities program under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, which supports strategic initiatives that contribute to significant sector growth and job creation in Alberta.
Phase 2 will establish a new $150-million yellow pea protein facility in the heart of Canada's premier food corridor in Lethbridge. Construction of the facility will begin in late 2022.
Once operational, the facility will create 100 new jobs, process about 126,000 tonnes of yellow peas annually and support more than $75 million in annual pea contracts for local and regional growers.
