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UZWIL, SWITZERLAND — French insect producer Agronutris has chosen Bühler Group as its process solution provider for its first commercial scale black soldier fly plant.

Bühler will deliver a full-scope solution for the facility, which will be built in Rethel, France. This collaboration is a major milestone for both organizations. It reinforces Bühler’s commitment to ambitious targets that will help mitigate climate change and build a more sustainable food system and supports Agronutris’ goal to establish itself as a world leader for sustainable nutrition. The plant is planned to go into operation in 2023.

The 16,000-square-meter insect plant, when operating at full capacity, will process up to 70,000 tonnes of organic residues and produce high-quality protein for the aquaculture and pet food markets every year.

“With the launch of this new site, Agronutris is entering its industrial deployment stage,” said Mehdi Berrada, chief executive officer of Agronutris. “The facility of Rethel will be our springboard for the further industrial development of our activity. Bühler is a world-leading company with a tremendous experience in the food and feed sector. We trust in their capabilities to support us in the insect industry. This allows our teams to focus on our core activities: insect biology and operational management of our production flow. Our research and development activities make for our competitive advantage.”

Bühler’s solutions for Agronutris will cover the entire supply chain. This includes feedstock preparation to provide safe, palatable, and nourishing feed to the larvae and a fully automated larvae growth system with sophisticated climate control. Bühler also will deliver the processing line to transform the grown larvae into protein meal and lipids, as well as the frass (excrement) handling system for a secure offtake of the rearing residues.

In addition, Bühler will be responsible for the entire automation and project execution. The latter encompasses engineering, procurement, manufacturing, supply, installation, and commissioning.

“The new project with Agronutris is a milestone for us,” said Andreas Baumann, head of market segment insect technology at Bühler. “It confirms our goal of establishing ourselves as a key solution provider for the insect industry and to increase the inclusion of insect proteins in animal feed. Our solutions contribute to more sustainable feed supply chains.”

To feed an anticipated 10 billion people by 2050, about 250 million tonnes of additional protein will be necessary every year. This is an increase of 50% compared to today. The industry must address this challenge with a more sustainable production of existing sources of protein as well as alternative sources for direct human and animal consumption. Edible insects can play a unique role in upcycling food waste streams to high-quality proteins, which makes them an increasingly important source of protein while being environmentally friendly.

The market of insect proteins as feed is expected to significantly grow in the next 10 years.

Agronutris aims to contribute to the emergence of this industry and to become one of the global leaders of the sector. The growth of its team (joined by entomologists and agro-industry experts), its recent fundraising of €100 million, and the collaboration with major companies such as Bühler, are some of the factors that will allow the company to live up to this ambition.

Source: World Grain