Biotechnology company Innovafeed has completed the third expansion phase of its industrial-scale production facility in Nesle, France. The company claims that this third phase will enable the facility to reach the target production capacity and profitability.
Innovafeed, one of the leading insect producers for animal and plant nutrition, has announced the completion of the third phase of expansion at its production site in Nesle, France. According to the company, this is a crucial step that marks the scaling up of its production capacities, as announced in September 2022, following its record-breaking €250M Series D funding round.
This new expansion brings the total floor area to 55,000m². As a result, it increases the larval production capacity fivefold and enhances rearing conditions through automated and optimized production flow management. Innovafeed claims that with this expansion, Nesle will become the largest insect production site in the world.
According to Innovafeed, this achievement not only demonstrates the viability of its breakthrough technology but also its ability to scale up to large-scale, profitable, and sustainable production. “Innovafeed thus proves the robustness of its innovative industrial model,” the company adds.
A NEW INDUSTRIAL PHASE
The construction of this latest expansion in Nesle is the result of an industrial development designed in phases to manage and mitigate the risks of its model. The first two phases, inaugurated in 2020 and 2023 respectively, addressed the technological risks inherent in creating a new innovative industrial sector based on living organisms. Innovafeed states that after ramping up, stabilizing the technology, and demonstrating the economic performance of the site during the first two phases, this third phase will enable it to reach the target production capacity and profitability.
A SUSTAINABLE AND EFFICIENT MODEL
Through this expansion, Innovafeed points out that it also demonstrates the acceleration of the Insect Industry’s development and the success of its industrial symbiosis model. This model ensures the production of proteins for animal feed while maintaining a low carbon impact (an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to other models without industrial symbiosis) and respecting biodiversity, according to the company.
This low-carbon food alternative is highly endorsed by agro-industry leaders, including ADM and Cargill, who are among Innovafeed’s main customers and investors. Innovafeed has secured over €1 billion in contracts over 10 years.
