World’s largest insect farm: Ground broken

A historic event in which the heads of the company, with its founders Adriana Casillas (CEO) and Sabas de Diego (CTO) at the head, were surrounded by institutional representatives and industry leaders. Photo: Tebrio

Construction has started of the largest insect farm in the world, which will be capable of producing 100,000 tonnes of mealworm a year.

The 90,000 square metre €110m plant in Salamanca, Spain, will include 5 breeding and one processing unit once its operational. Production will include high quality protein and lipids for production of animal feed products, 100% organic biofertilisers and chitosan, with applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and bioplastics sectors.

Renewable power

The plant is the brainchild of biotech company pioneer Tebrio and will employ 150 people as well as creating 1,350 ancillary jobs. The first phase of the project will be completed in the last quarter of this year. Construction of the whole site is expected to finish in 2028. Solar panels will enable the plant to be power renewably.

Aquafeed sector

Adriano Casillas, Tebrio chief executive officer and co-founder, has said more than half of the mealworm production will go into aquafeeds: “We want to bring about 60% of the total production for feed for the aquaculture sector,” he told industry sources.

Zero-waste model

Tebrio mainly uses low-value by-products from the cereal sector as a feedstock for the mealworms and has developed a zero-waste model. The company hopes the new facility will enable the company to achieve a negative carbon footprint.

Environmental footprint

The breeding and processing of the Tenebrio molitor does not involve air or soil pollution, as it is an insect that does not emit methane, ammonia or other chemical compounds. Tebrio is an active member of the United Nations Global Compact as it annually measures its environmental footprint and its commitment to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It is also recognized as a BCorp company and Adriana Casillas is an ambassador for the European Climate Pact.

Investments

Tebrio secured €30m in funding last November from Banco de Santander, Sodical, GPC and CDTI. At the time, Jesús García, CEO of GPC Consulting, said the firm had decided to support Tebrio due to the quality of its products, coupled with an interesting financial return. “All of this is linked to the high biological safety guarantees offered by the Tenebrio molitor insect, which guarantees our investment.”