Bühler builds large-scale insect-plant for Agronutris in France

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.

When operating at full capacity, the 16,000 square meter insect-plant in Rethel, France will process up to 70,000 tons 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. The facility of Rethel will be our springboard for the further industrial development of our activity," says Mehdi Berrada, CEO of Agronutris. "Bühler is a world-leading company with aremendous 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 will also deliver the processing line to efficiently transform the grown larvae into protein meal and lipids with consistent quality and the frass (excrement) handling system for a secure offtake of the rearing residues.

In addition, Bühler will be responsible for the entire automation and the timely project execution. The latter encompasses engineering, procurement, manufacturing, supply, installation, and commissioning. "The new project with Agronutris is a milestone for us. It confirms our goal of establishing ourselves as a key solution provider for the insect industry and increasing the inclusion of insect proteins in animal feed. Our solutions contribute to more sustainable feed supply chains," says Andreas Baumann, Head of Market Segment Insect Technology at Bühler.

Growing demand

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

The market of insect proteins as feed is expected to grow in the next ten years significantly. The total turnover of insect feed operators is expected to achieve EUR 2.2 billion per year by the end of the decade. This growth will be led by two main sectors: the aquaculture sector, which will make up for 30% of sales volumes of insect producers by 2030, and the petfood sector, which will account for 40% of the insect protein sales volumes by 2030.

Agronutris aims to contribute to the emergence of this industry and become one of the sector's global leaders. The growth of its team (joined by entomologists and agro-industry experts), its recent fundraising of EUR 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.

Bühler is committed to reducing water, energy, and waste by 50% in its customers' value chains by 2025. This will help mitigate climate change and be the foundation of a more sustainable food system. Insects offer a unique opportunity. They are not only a healthy source of protein for food and feed but they can be fed on waste, therefore converting food waste into protein. And their frass can be used as a fertilizer. That is why they are an important pillar in Bühler's strategy to become the leader in sustainable proteins for food and feed.