The company aims to ramp up production to 100,000 tonnes of black soldier fly larvae a year © BioflyTech
The startup is the first Spanish company to obtain authorisation to produce, transform and market insect-based products and is aiming to sell the protein as an ingredient for the aquafeed and pet food markets. Meanwhile the insect fat will be sold for pig feed, as well as for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry, which uses it in the creation of soaps and moisturisers. Finally the waste products, known as frass, will be sold as fertiliser.
The Palas de Rei facility is initially being supplied with dried larvae from the company’s fly farm in Fuente Álamo, Murcia, but will grow its own larvae once the necessary permission for production has been given. The Galician site has six larval production units, a processing facility, and a storage facility for frass.
The site will have the capacity to produce 12,000 tonnes of larvae per year and an expansion is also being planned to increase capacity to 100,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile the company aims to invest of €2.8 million in its Fuente Álamo facilities, in order to increase the production capacity of the hatchery that supplies eggs to the facilities in Galicia. Currently, Fuente Álamo produces 4,000 tonnes of fresh larvae a year, as well as 180 kg of eggs per month. The objective of the expansion, for which all permits have already been requested, is to reach 350 kg of eggs per month.
