A former newspaper printing house became a workplace for caterpillars: In the bioreactor of the Volare factory, caterpillars convert waste into ecological protein

Volare's first commercial-scale plant in Pori, which produces insect protein, is ready to go. The Finnish company, founded by VTT, is responding to the EU's feared feed shortage with its own production.

The factory completed in Pori will increase its size a thousandfold Volare production capacity compared to the company's previous demo plant, which operates in Hyvinkää.

The new commercial-scale plant aims to produce 5,000 tons of protein and 2,000 tons of oil per year.

The purpose of the old printing house was changed to a factory

Kemiamedia.fi previously reportedthat Volare's original plans were to build a full-scale factory in Järvenpää.

The plant in Pori was built on the premises of a former newspaper printing house, and no new property was needed. The investment costs for the Pori factory were approximately 15 million euros.

Production sold out in advance

Volare has already pre-sold a large part of the production from its new factory. The protein will be purchased under a binding agreement by Skretting, the world's largest salmonid feed manufacturer.

A buyer has been found for the oil from a large chemical company. Volare also has a preliminary agreement with a large pet food company. Sales of the products are practically assured.

“Many of our current customers use hundreds of times more protein and oil raw materials than the newly opened factory produces,” says Volare’s CEO. Jarna Hyvönen.

Up to three-quarters of the high-protein animal feed used in EU countries is currently imported, so the Finnish company also contributes to the security of supply in the EU.

Volare, which started five years ago, aims to achieve profitability as early as next year.

Waste turned into profit with the help of flies

Waste and side streams from the food industry are processed into various useful products using the proprietary technology of Volare, which has a background in VTT.

At the heart of the technology is the black soldier fly, whose larvae are fed on, for example, grain husks, dough waste, and side streams from sugar production.

According to Hyvönen, the fly is like nature's own bioreactor. The larvae of the species naturally thrive in small spaces and eat almost any organic material.

At the end of the process, the pulsating larvae produce protein powder, which is suitable for use in fish feed and pet food, among other things.

Nothing goes to waste.

“The insect protein obtained from larvae has excellent nutritional value, and the dry processing method helps preserve the nutrients,” says Hyvönen.

Nothing is wasted in production. The material left over from the larvae is used as fertilizer. The fully electrified process does not even produce wastewater.

Thanks to automation, the factory can be run by four people.

Aim high

Volare aims to grow significantly in the future. The company is currently in the process of a public offering to raise funds for the design of its next production facility.

In the long term, the company wants to be able to rapidly build more factories close to raw material suppliers.

“The next scaling step could initially be about fivefold, or 20,000–30,000 tons of protein per year,” says Hyvönen.

Text: Päivi Ikonen, Kemiamedia.fi

Photo: Anssi Koskinen. The resources already available in the food-feed chain should be utilized more efficiently, says Jarna Hyvönen, CEO and founding member of Volare. The young Finnish company is now setting an example for others.