In February, Ÿnsect raised a EUR 110 million Series C round – the largest funding round to date in an agtech startup outside of the US.

French starupt wins EUR 20 million backing to build insect-based protein plant

FRANCE
Wednesday, June 12, 2019, 05:40 (GMT + 9)

Paris-based Ÿnsect aims to become the world leader in insect-based protein production for animal and fish feed. Today, the company is officially launching the first fully-automated industrial facility to produce premium insect protein.

The project, called FARMYNG is based in the city of Amiens in northern France, and receiving EUR 20 million in investment from the European Commission and the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU). Ÿnsect is the first French company to win an EU-backed project on such a scale.

Ÿnsect’s headquarters and R&D center (left) and the recently built Ÿnsite, a demonstration facility designed to produce insects at large scale (right)

In February, Ÿnsect raised a EUR 110 million Series C round – the largest funding round to date in an agtech startup outside of the US. The startup promises to present a more sustainable alternative to protein sources such as soy, which takes up large amounts of land, soil, and water resources to produce.

Antoine Hubert, CEO and founder of Ÿnsect ►

“We are very proud. We’d like to thank all our partners for their commitment and the European Commission and BBI JU for putting their faith in us,” said Antoine Hubert, CEO and founder of Ÿnsect. “Europe is demonstrating its global leadership in alternative protein sources and is home to trailblazers throughout the value chain.”

FARMYNG will produce insects called Tenebrio molitor on an industrial scale, which can be used as premium proteins for animal feed and fertilizers. This will be the first time that bio-based proteins are produced on an industrial scale, to meet ever-increasing global demand.

The project will have a huge impact on Northern France and Europe over the next 10 years, with the potential to ramp up production to over 200,000 tonnes of premium protein with expected revenues of around EUR 1 billion and the creation of 1,200 direct and indirect jobs. In addition, the plant will benefit the environment by avoiding the need to reduce wild fish stacks by 800,000 tonnes.

Mealworm, T. molitor, larvae.(Photo: courtesy  Siti Nurulhidayah Ahmad)

Ÿnsect’s farm and transform insects in their farm-hill in France. Juvenile insect larvae are fed and grow under optimal conditions for several weeks 95% are steamed, then processed into proteins and oils, without using any chemical agents. The remaining 5% become adults and reproduce to renew the juvenile population.(click on the photo to enlarge it)

The Amiens site is due to open in 2021, representing one of the first Industry 4.0 factories on the continent. It is both fully automated and uses vertical farming techniques to save both energy and space. The site also features many data sensors enabling Ÿnsect teams to develop predictive models to track insect productivity and growth.

Author: Mary Loritz - EU Startups (Read the whole article here)

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