Insect Farming

© Fraunhofer IME | Marius Wenning
The production of fishmeal as aquaculture feed contributes to overfishing of the oceans
© Fraunhofer IME | Jeanny Jerschow-Schaumann
Black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens)
© Fraunhofer IME | Jeanny Jerschow-Schaumann
Larvae of black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens)

Research motivation

Feed production is destroying ecosystems worldwide. Insects represent a high-quality alternative to classic feed. By recycling industrial side streams, insects enable a circular economy and mitigate an emerging protein gap. Fraunhofer IME develops automated production systems to scale competitive production volumes.

Soy demands for livestock farming are a major driver for the ongoing deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Similarly, fishmeal fed in aquaculture contributes to overfishing of the oceans. With the world's population on the rise and an increasing global demand for meat and fish, new feeds are required to produce more proteins while reducing its environmental impact.

 

Insects as feed

Insects are highly resource efficient. Compared to mammals, they require a fraction of water and land. As they can even thrive on food waste, insects do not require additional feed. For example, the larvae of the black soldier fly could be used to upcycle the EU’s 88 million metric tons of food waste into high-quality animal protein. This resilient insect could even recover nutrients from manure and sewage sludge.

The protein meal extracted from black soldier fly larvae has a balanced amino acid profile, making it an attractive substitute, particularly for fishmeal. Moreover, the replacement of fishmeal by insect proteins reduces the risk of marine pathogen contamination in aquaculture.

 

Profitability crucial for market penetration

Worldwide, about half of the consumed fish is produced in aquaculture. Feeds may make up about 50 % of the aquaculture costs and are therefore crucial for its profitability. Consequently, the price of insects must compete with a fishmeal price of about €1,500 per ton.

Small-scale insect production is governed by the feed substrate and labor costs. The feed substrate costs can be minimized by using side streams. According to the law of mass production, increases in production volume can lower the specific production costs. However, economies of scale in large-scale insect production go along with highly priced automated production technology. The required capital expenditures have made investors shy away so far. In addition, organic side streams such as municipal waste occurs in a distributed manner. Their transport to a few centralized factories increases costs and is not sustainable.

 

Production technology to reduce costs

At Fraunhofer IME's Bioresources Division, the development of new production technology for insect farming largely aims at medium-sized enterprises. These include farms, companies in the food industry and regional waste management companies, which typically require low-investment facilities with low personnel expenses in order to be able to utilize side streams locally.  To engage successfully in the novel insect farming sector, expert knowledge on insect biology and farming must be available in a simplified and cost-effective manner.

To reduce complexity, insect production can be divided into the reproduction and the fattening of larvae. Reproduction can be outsourced so that the facility focuses on the utilization of side streams in the fattening process. A production control system regulates environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity and oxygen to ensure ideal conditions. Observation of larval weight gain using computer vision algorithms enables fully automated monitoring. Merging sensor data in cloud software and its evaluation employing machine learning guarantees optimized process control for each substrate and situation dependent instructions. A digital twin – a virtual model of the insect life cycle – can predict the protein and fat content, as well as the amino acid profile. Thereby controlling the composition of the insect larvae, the feed can be utilized to support animal growth and health. Thus, the antibiotics application is reduced, in addition to conserving bioresources.

© Fraunhofer IME | Marius Wenning
Production system for larvae fattening with a daily capacity of 60 tons of side streams and an investment of € 5.8 million.

More Informations

Interview with Prof. Dr. Andreas Vilcinskas, head of the institute, about the planned sustainable insect breeding facility in Giessen | alle wetter

Insect farming and microbiology

 

Circulation-orientated food and feed research

Dr. Dorothee Tegtmeier

Groupleader

Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME
Ohlebergsweg 12
35392 Giessen, Germany

Phone +49 641 97219-170

 

Sustainable food and feed from insects

 

Sustainable food and feed from insects

Dr. Patrick Klüber

Groupleader

Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME
Ohlebergsweg 12
35392 Giessen, Germany

Phone +49 641 972-19289

 

Sustainable aquaculture

 

Sustainable aquaculture

 

We develop tailor-made and sustainable R&D solutions for saltwater and freshwater systems in the aquaculture industry.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Wilke

Head of Department »Biodiversity research«

Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME
Ohlebergsweg 12
35392 Giessen, Deutschland

Phone +4964197219308

Our Projects

 

»Bio-Schmier«

Platform technology for bio-based high-performance lubricants utilising sustainable material cycles.

 

»SymBioÖkonomie«

Insects and their symbiotic microbes for the circular bioeconomy

 

»FutureProteins«

Coupled agricultural systems for resilient and resource-optimised production of high-quality food proteins

 

»TenEDEN«

Efficient organic fertiliser from mealworm meal

Press

 

The Silicon Valley of insect farming

 

Turning trash into treasure

Hermetia illucens microbiome and biodegradation of industrial side streams

 

Start-up on the road to success

In June, Fressnapf will launch dog and cat food containing proteins derived from silkworm pupae across Europe for the first time. These proteins are produced by the start-up Prombyx, based in Giessen.

 

Production of taste-optimised foods based on insect protein

 

Innovative solutions for the sustainable and energy-efficient use of insects in Giessen

 

Preservation of food and animal feed

 

Worms, flies, cockroaches: a huge insect farm is to be built in Giessen

Are you also interested in this topic? Then please contact us!

If you are interested in a collaboration or a research and development service, please contact us!

Dr. Dorothee Tegtmeier

Groupleader

Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME
Ohlebergsweg 12
35392 Giessen, Germany

Phone +49 641 97219-170

 

Dr. Patrick Klüber

Groupleader

Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME
Ohlebergsweg 12
35392 Giessen, Germany

Phone +49 641 972-19289