03/30/2021 Bühler AG
Insects will play a key role in building more sustainable value chains for chickens and aquaculture. This is a necessity if the industry is to provide enough protein to satisfy the growing population. Bühler is committed to ambitious goals that will help curb climate change. The company aims to reduce waste, energy consumption and water consumption in the value chains of its customers by 50%. In order to deliver by 2030, both Bühler and industry must have scalable solutions by 2025.
A key strategy to sustainably nourish the growing population of the planet is to reduce the agricultural area by more than a third. That way we would bring the carbon emissions within the planet’s boundaries. A major driver of both land use and CO2 production is human consumption of proteins, especially meat. The enormous growth in non-animal meat alternatives, mainly from plant-based products, is an indication of the strong desire to eat more sustainably from the perspective of climate change. However, Bühler has come to the conclusion that the pace of global diet change will not be fast enough to sufficiently reduce CO2 emissions by 2030, and that the industry urgently needs to contribute to a more sustainable meat value chain.
One way to reduce the carbon footprint of meat is to use insects as feed, especially poultry and aquaculture. By embedding insect production in the cultivation system, the advantages of the circular economy and the integrative start-up of a company are unlocked. They provide an excellent source of protein from by-streams, reduce depletion of fish stocks in our oceans by replacing wild-caught fish feed, and provide a low carbon footprint protein source for poultry. It is important that this can lead to a significantly reduced land use for feed production.
Bühler offers technology solutions for the growth and processing of insects to enable the conversion of organic residues into high-quality insect-based ingredients on an industrial scale. With experience in plant operation, proven innovations and a strong research and development pipeline, Bühler will play a key role in developing this emerging industrial sector to reduce the carbon footprint of meat production. And the company doesn’t stop there.
Bühler is pleased to announce another step in its production and processing capacity for insects. The company’s unique larval storage system enables insect rearing to be completely decoupled from processing, which offers excellent flexibility in the operational plan. Bühler’s technology has passed the field test and is now ready for widespread industrial use.
Last year, after four years of close collaboration with one of its partners, Protix, Bühler reached the most important milestone when the fully automated industrial fly factory for black soldiers in Bergen Op Zoom in North Brabant, the Netherlands, reached its full processing capacity. This is proof of the insect industry and the successful conclusion of the joint venture between Bühler and Protix.
“We congratulate Kees Aarts and his team at Protix on the exceptional performance of their insect protein facility. Being the pioneer in an industry is a challenging task, and being the first to supply an economically viable insect plant on a large scale is an important step on their ambitious journey, ”says Ian Roberts, CTO at Bühler. “We sincerely thank Kees and his team for this collaboration.”
“I am pleased that Bühler is ready and able to address the insect market with proven technologies, and I am excited about the pipeline of the projects that have been set up. I look forward to realizing new projects and thus achieving Bühler’s sustainability goals, ”says Andreas Baumann, Managing Director of the Bühler Insect Technology division.
“We believe that insect-based ingredients offer a new category of nutrition for the food system. Realizing such a new category requires a comprehensive ecosystem approach in which several parties work closely together, ”says Kees Aarts, CEO and founder of Protix. “At Protix, we are working with multiple parties to drive the emergence of sustainable diets that enable a food system in balance with nature. The collaboration with Bühler is a good example of this. We will continue to support the growth of the industry and are convinced that further collaborations are necessary in order to achieve important milestones on our way. “
Further information on Bühler Insect Technology Solutions can be found on the Bühler website.
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