Finnish insect farming firm Volare opens 5,000-ton protein factory in Pori
Finnish startup Volare has completed its first industrial-scale insect processing plant in Pori and is preparing a second one.
Volare, a Finnish insect farming startup, has completed its first industrial-scale facility in the city of Pori, Finland. It can produce up to 5,000 tons of insect protein and 2,000 tons of oil per year from black soldier fly larvae. The company says the project was finished on schedule and within its €15 million ($16.6 million) capital expenditure budget. Insect protein is used in animal feed, including for fish, pets and poultry.
The plant is housed in a former newspaper printing facility and is designed to run with four people per shift. The larvae are fed with locally available side streams from the food industry.
Sales and funding
A significant share of the capacity is already sold. Offtake agreements are in place with customers including aquafeed producer Skretting and an unnamed global chemical company. Volare has sold its protein commercially since 2022 from a demo-scale site. It has developed dog treats with Alvar Pet, cat food with VAFO Group and rainbow trout feed together with Alltech Fennoaqua. The protein has also been used in organic poultry feed.
The company has raised a further €7.1 million ($7.7 million) through Springvest and is now preparing a second industrial-scale facility.
EU rules and costs
CEO Jarna Hyvönen told AgFunderNews that EU rules block insect farms from using post-consumer food waste and most animal by-products as feed. She said the rules could be loosened over time, but that the company's business model does not depend on that. In her view, costs can be reduced through choices on power supply, labor needs and wastewater costs.
Volare uses a dry process for protein meal production that cuts energy use by about 30%, and a method to hygienize frass, the larvae excrement, that uses about 50% less energy.
