Innovafeed's Nesle plant is now the world's largest insect production site

French insect protein producer Innovafeed has completed the third phase of expansion at its Nesle production site in northern France, the company has announced.

This step marks a significant scale-up in production capacity for Innovafeed, making its Nesle facility the largest insect production site in the world.

Founded in 2016, Innovafeed produces ingredients derived from insects for animal nutrition and aquaculture, and the company describes insect production as "at the heart of a new zero-waste, circular agricultural value chain that creates sustainable jobs", where insect oil is produced for poultry and swine nutrition, insect protein is utilized for aquaculture nutrition, and frass (insect manure) as an organic fertilizer.

The Phase 3 development at Innovafeed's Nesle facility was enabled by the company's record-breaking Series D funding round in 2022, which raised €250 million.

This funding has also supported Innovafeed's international expansion strategy, with the company recently opening its North American Insect Innovation Center (NAIIC) in Decatur, Illinois - a strategic step which also builds on a partnership with US corn processor ADM, as explained by Maye Walraven, Innovafeed's General Manager for North America, in an exclusive interview with WeAreAquaculture. 

The expanded Nesle site now covers 55,000m², increasing larval production capacity by five times and optimizing rearing conditions through advanced automation, the company says.

Announcing the expansion in a press release, Innovafeed said this highlights its ability to scale its operations in a profitable and sustainable manner, and reinforces the viability of its industrial model. 

"The construction of this latest expansion in Nesle is the result of an industrial development designed in phases to manage and mitigate the risks of its model. The first two phases, inaugurated in 2020 and 2023 respectively, addressed the technological risks inherent in creating a new innovative industrial sector based on living organisms," Innovafeed said.

"After ramping up, stabilizing the technology, and demonstrating the economic performance of the site during the first two phases, this third phase will enable to reach the target production capacity and profitability," it stated.

"This last stage is a critical transition phase between design and industrial maturity. Innovafeed’s success in Nesle is a strong symbol for the industrial startup ecosystem in France," it added.

Highlighting support from agro-industry leaders ADM and Cargill, Innovafeed says it has secured over €1 billion worth of contracts over the next decade of operation.

The completion of the third phase will now add 40 new jobs to the existing 170 positions at Innovafeed. These roles, including production operators, maintenance technicians, and team coordinators, are primarily sourced from the Hauts-de-France region, with many positions filled through internal mobility, the company says.

Innovafeed says it is commited to "green reindustrialization in France", and is pursuing an "industrial symbiosis" model of business, whereby its production facilities are co-located with other industries "to generate cost and environmental synergies".

Innovafeed says this strategic approach enables it to produce ingredients with a lower carbon footprint - claiming a reduction of 80% in comparison to other companies without industrial symbiosis - and also reduce carbon emissions across the value chain.

The company has been a certified B Corp since 2022, and this year was selected as one of the 40 future impact unicorns by France's IMPACT40 index. It is also listed among the French Tech "Next40", a government support programme dedicated to the 120 most successful French start-ups with the potential to become world-class leaders.