€20m insect protein facility to be built in France
Plans for a €20 million insect protein facility in Amiens, France were today unveiled in Paris.
The fully automated mealworm facility will be able to produce more than 1,500 tons of proteins per month, a production rate that has never been achieved by any other insect-protein production plant in the world, and will eventually be capable of producing 200,000 tonnes per year.
The project, called FARMYNG, is coordinated by French mealworm producer Ÿnsect and is co-funded by the European Commission and the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), a €3.7 billion partnership between the EU and the Bio-based Industries Consortium.
€1 billion potential
FARMYNG will develop the farming and transformation of mealworm (Tenebrio Molitor) for automated and industrial production with the participation of 20 key players in the value chain; from feedstock supply to the final insect ingredients use in fish feed, pet food and plant fertilisation.
According to Ÿnsect , the project has the potential to ramp up production to over 200,000 tonnes of protein, with revenues of around €1 billion.
The company claims the plant will benefit the environment “by avoiding the need to reduce wild fish stocks by 800,000 tonnes”.
