Feed Technology
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New heights with industrial symbiosis and scalability in insect production Innovafeed stands tall with sustainability and assurance of feedstock and renewable energy supplies By Zuridah Merican
Innovafeed’s vertical farming model - For every hectare of insect vertical farm, 100 hectares of arable land is required to produce equivalent amount of protein from soy.
T
he global insect production sector is characterised by the growing number of startups and innovators in every corner of the world. Europe, however, is where several leaders in insect technology first started. When the European Union approved the use of insect meals in aquafeeds in July 2017, the aquafeed industry became the main target market for insect technology companies, according to the International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed (IPIFF), an EU non-profit organisation for the insect production sector. By 2030, IPIFF expects 40% of volumes will be for this market with 10% of the fish consumed in the EU derived from fish farms that use insect protein in their aquafeed formulations. This would depend on how fast insect producers upscale. Scalability is an industry challenge for insect technology innovators. Here in Asia, with the push for a sustainable high protein alternative to fishmeal, while there is already an acceptance of insect meals, a concern often expressed is stable and larger volumes.
Industrial symbiosis
Nestled in Nesle in northern France, insect producer, Innovafeed is convinced that its unique “industrial symbiosis” production model puts it ahead of its competitors. There is a symbiotic relationship among the three companies within the same industrial site. Tereos, a starch plant, supplies 100% of the wet agriculture feedstock - wheat bran and stillage - to Innovafeed which uses them as is. The advantage for Tereos is that it does not need to dry its
by-product. Kogeban produces energy using wood biomass to run a turbine to produce electricity for the national grid and steam for Tereos. Innovafeed has a hydro condenser around the turbine and the heat generated is channelled as hot water to heat the insect factory. “Therefore, we have 100% green energy from Kogeban, as we also take waste steam from Kogeban for our use. Therefore, 60% of the energy used at our plant is waste energy which has been a huge advantage for us amidst this Ukraine war and high energy costs. At all our sites, this is the model, co-location with energy and feedstock suppliers. This zero-waste circular model saves 57,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. We can valorise those energy savings through various mechanisms such as white certificates or carbon credits,” explained Maye Walraven, VP of Business Development at Innovafeed. She added how insect ingredients, in replacing fishmeal or palm oil in aquafeeds, save 45,000 tonnes of marine resources and 1,800ha of arable land, respectively. “This symbiosis model is really what makes us more sustainable. If we did not have this model, our carbon footprint would be 80% higher due to the drying of the co-products. Our cost would also be higher because of the energy requirement,” explained Walraven. “As this facility and others that we plan to set up are in rural areas, we provide jobs for the local community. In fact, here in Nesle, we employ 110 people from the local community.”
May/June 2022 AQUA Culture Asia Pacific
