Bühler, one of the world’s leading processing technology groups, and Entocycle, an insect technology company, have joined forces to drive adoption of large-scale black soldier fly (BSF) farms. The companies will provide solutions and expertise to serve customers in this segment, covering the multiple steps of the journey, from concept and basic engineering to execution of BSF facilities worldwide.

The non-exclusive partnership creates a highly complementary offering with Entocycle delivering proprietary breeding technology and Bühler bringing proven industrial-scale technologies in feedstock processing, larvae rearing, and product processing.

One of the challenges of the highly promising, emerging insect industry has been how to ensure a steady supply of young larvae at an industrial scale. “While the pioneers in this industry had to develop their own technology out of necessity to ensure a robust BSF breeding, companies now venturing into this industry will be able to rely on a proven and scalable solution,” says Andreas Baumann, Head of Market Segment Insect Technology at Bühler. Although there are specialized breeding service companies in certain regions, in large parts of the world, there is no alternative to having an in-house breeding operation. With this partnership, Bühler and Entocycle address this challenge by offering scalable end-to-end solutions that significantly reduce the time to market for companies building an insect facility.

During the last 10 years, Bühler has been developing its capabilities in the insect protein industry and has already completed a number of relevant projects in the field. In 2019, Bühler supported Protix in the realization of the world’s first commercial BSF plant in the Netherlands and this year Bühler delivered Agronutris’ first industrial BSF plant in France.