May 11, 2022 – French firm, InnovaFeed, says it is on track to open commercial production by 2024, making its Decatur plant the world’s largest provider of insect protein.
Nizar El Alami, InnovaFeed’s VP of Industrial Development, stated “Our role is to develop the best technology possible and will be starting with our R&D (research and development) activities by end of the year, breaking ground on the facility in 2022 and starting operations by the end of 2024 on our commercial plant.”
InnovaFeed announced a strategic partnership with ADM in 2020 that will allow the facility to produce protein-rich feed, oils, and fertilizer through groundbreaking insect farming technology. The plant, which represents a 250 million dollar investment, will be located near the ADM plant in order to facilitate what InnovaFeed calls an “industrial symbiosis model” that will result in zero waste. This is accomplished by purchasing waste energy from ADM, piping the waste to the InnovaFeed plant, and then using that waste product to farm the insect proteins. Watch a video on the process HERE.
El Alami says InnovaFeed plans to feed 10 billion people by 2050, either directly or indirectly through its production of animal and plant nutrition.
He added the target capacity for the Decatur plant will be around 60 thousand tons of protein, surpassing the company’s French plant capacity of 15 thousand tons, making Decatur’s plant the largest insect protein plant in the world.
In addition to the environmentally sustainable impact, El Alami stressed the economic impact the plant will provide to the Decatur area. The plant will provide 280 direct jobs and at least 400 indirect jobs. InnovaFeed is currently hiring 30 immediate positions in engineering, research, and business development.
To see InnovaFeed’s project update presentation, click HERE.
