The Volare senior management team.
Photo: Volare
Finnish biotech company Volare has secured €26 million to construct a state-of-the-art insect protein production plant in Pori, Finland, and further develop its proprietary technology, the company has announced.
Billed as "the most energy-efficient protein production facility in the world", Volare 01 will scale up the conversion of food industry byproducts into protein, oil, and fertilizer using black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens). The facility will be built on a brownfield site for cost efficiency and is designed to support future expansion across Northern Europe, Volare said.
The company raised the finance through a funding round involving equity, loans, and public support from investors including Maki.vc, Firstminute Capital, the Finnish Climate Fund, and Business Finland.
As it enters the scale-up phase, Volare has appointed co-founder and former COO Jarna Hyvönen as CEO, while co-founder and former CEO Tuure Parviainen takes on the role of Chief Science Officer, focusing on advancing the firm's technology and overseeing the development of its new facility.
Plant to produce protein equivalent of 200 million Baltic herring
"This investment marks a major step toward full-scale operations and reinforces Volare’s position at the forefront of the global protein transition," said Hyvönen, in a press release.
"Our new facility will bring our proprietary, zero-waste, fossil-free process to life at scale, transforming food industry byproducts into high-quality protein and strengthening Europe’s food resilience," added Parviainen.
According to the company, its new plant is expected to produce protein equivalent to 200 million Baltic herring annually, or around 18% of Finland’s total fish catch by protein volume.
Volare’s insect protein ingredients are already used in aquaculture feed, pet food, and poultry feed. A long-term supply agreement has been signed with global aquaculture feed producer Skretting, and a pilot project for insect-fed rainbow trout is currently underway in Finland.
