Innovafeed completes phase 3 of plant expansion in France
FRANCE – Innovafeed has achieved a significant milestone by completing the third expansion phase at its production site in Nesle, France, establishing the world’s largest insect production facility.
Announced on July 15, 2024, this development marks a critical step in scaling up Innovafeed’s production capacities, a goal set following its record-breaking EUR250 million (US$272.6 million) Series D funding round in September 2022.
The expansion increases the Nesle site’s total floor area to 55,000 square meters, enhancing its larval production capacity fivefold.
This upgrade also optimizes rearing conditions through automated and efficient production flow management, positioning Nesle as the largest insect production site globally.
This achievement underscores the viability and scalability of Innovafeed’s cutting-edge technology, proving the robustness of its innovative industrial model.
The phased industrial development approach, beginning with the initial phases in 2020 and 2023, has effectively managed and mitigated risks associated with creating a new industrial sector based on living organisms.
The first two phases focused on stabilizing technology and demonstrating economic performance. With this third phase, Innovafeed aims to achieve target production capacity and profitability.
Innovafeed is a pioneer among France’s industrial startups, contributing to the mobility, energy production, and agrifood sectors.
This movement within the French tech sector is crucial for fostering new technologies and industrial sectors, enhancing France’s industrial sovereignty, and decarbonizing strategic industries.
The evolution of industrial startups follows several stages: confirming technical feasibility in laboratories, pilot demonstrations at a semi-industrial scale, and the “flagship” demonstration at an industrial scale.
Innovafeed’s success in Nesle symbolizes the transition from design to industrial maturity, representing a significant achievement for the French industrial startup ecosystem.
The expansion at Nesle highlights the insect industry’s accelerated development and the efficacy of Innovafeed’s industrial symbiosis model.
This model produces proteins for animal feed with a significantly lower carbon footprint—an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to other models—and respects biodiversity.
Such a low-carbon food alternative has garnered strong support from agro-industry leaders like ADM and Cargill, among Innovafeed’s key customers and investors.
Innovafeed has secured over EUR1 (approximately US$1.089) billion in contracts spanning ten years, underscoring the trust and commitment of its partners.
Moreover, completing this expansion phase solidifies the existing 170 positions and creates 40 new jobs, including roles for production operators, maintenance technicians, and team coordinators from the Hauts-de-France region.
Some of these positions have already been filled, with the majority expected to be filled through internal mobility.
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