Bug breakthrough: BioFlyTech joins aquaculture consortium
In Spain, insect bioconversion company BioFlyTech has joined DIVERSYFY4Future, an EU-funded R&D project looking to diversify and make European aquaculture more sustainable. Among its objectives is the development of new protein ingredients with a lower environmental footprint for animal feed, derived from low-trophic-level sources and waste products, thereby reducing the current reliance on monocultures and products such as soy, fishmeal, and fish oil. The project includes 34 organizations from 14 countries. BioFlyTech manufactures products derived from the black soldier fly, including dried larvae, meal, fat, and biofertilizers.
During the trials, which will begin this June, the properties and performance of the insects will be evaluated in terms of growth, health, immunity, and resilience, as well as under conditions of thermal stress. The “frass,” or insect excrement, generated during the fattening process of the black soldier fly larvae will also be used as a substrate for microalgae cultivation, closing the cycle of an insect-algae biorefinery.
According to estimates compiled in DIVERSYFY4Future, the incorporation of low trophic level species could generate annual savings of between €4.5 and €6 million in feed costs for the aquaculture sector by 2040, simply by implementing this feeding model in 75 aquaculture farms.
Category: Chemicals & Materials
