The Excel4Pro project team announces an Open Competition to support innovations in the field of plant proteins from startups and SMEs in Ukraine, Greece, and Turkey, with funding of up to €40,000.

The Open Call has a total budget of €360,000 and will support at least nine startups and SMEs, each eligible for up to €40,000. Startups and SMEs based in Turkey, Greece, and Ukraine that are developing or planning to develop innovative plant-based protein products or sustainable food processing solutions are invited to apply. Selected projects will design, develop, and validate their solutions within the Excel4Pro framework, contributing to the project’s hubs of excellence and long-term innovation ecosystem.

Competition focus areas:

• Protein structure-function (new generation plant proteins with improved functional properties)

• Nutritional quality in food matrices (taste, texture, nutritional value)

• Process design and sustainable processing technologies (circularity, energy efficiency)

The selected projects will be implemented in three phases:

Phase 1 – Design (November 2026 – February 2027): development of an activity plan.

Phase 2 – Development (March 2027 – July 2027): implementation and reporting on results and achieved indicators.

Phase 3 – Validation (August 2027 – January 2028): final reporting and/or validation activities with community participation.

Call for applications: https://opencalls.fund/open-call/excel4pro

Deadline: 27 April 2026, 17:00 CET.

Excel4Pro is a four-year project, launched in January 2025 and funded by the European Union. It unites partners to build a cross-border innovation ecosystem and strengthen the plant protein value chain.

More information about the project: https://excel4pro