French biotech company InnovaFeed has signed a deal with U.S. grains merchant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co (ADM) to supply insect protein to the company’s pet food division, InnovaFeed announced. InnovaFeed is beginning construction on a large insect farming plant later this year adjacent to ADM’s Decatur, Illinois, corn processing facility, which will supply feed for the insects as well as waste heat and water. The plant is slated to produce feed ingredients from black soldier flies and fertilizer from their waste. InnovaFeed said it expects to open a research and development center at the site later this year, with commercial feed production to scale up by 2024.

Pet food makers are increasingly using insects such as flies, mealworms and crickets as a sustainable source of protein in pet food and treats, capitalizing on rising pet ownership and booming demand from environmentally conscious consumers. Farmed bugs require far less land, water and feed than livestock and they emit less greenhouse gasses. “Insect protein is the next alternative protein ready to be scaled, with massive market potential,” said InnovaFeed Chief Executive Clement Ray. Regulations in key markets have also been easing.