PALAS DE REI, SPAIN — Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) producer Bioflytech announced April 8 it has begun production of flours and fats at its new Palas de Rei, Galicia, facility. According to the company, it is the first Spanish supplier to obtain regulatory approval to manufacture and commercialize its BSFL-based ingredients. Construction of the Palas de Rei facility was first announced in the fall of 2023.

Bioflytech will leverage dried BSFL produced at its facility in Fuente Álamo, Murcia, Spain, to create BSFL-based flour and fat ingredients at its Palas de Rei facility. These products are targeted primarily for the animal feed industry, including pet food and aquaculture feed, but also have applications in pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.

The state-of-the art Palas de Rei facility houses rendering and drying machinery to facilitate the development of flour and fat ingredients derived from dried BSFL. Bioflytech will supply the flour to pet food and aquaculture feed manufacturers, while the fat will primarily go toward pig feed, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

For the BSFL-based flours, Bioflytech will utilize a second piece of rendering equipment that was tailor-made for the company’s processing needs. According to the company, this equipment will allow it to “revolutionize the production of protein flours from insects.” Bioflytech already has plans to install a third rendering machine in Palas de Rei soon.

Development continues for the company’s up-and-coming manufacturing campus in Palas de Rei, which will eventually include eight facilities spanning production, larvae fattening and compost storage. Once fully developed, Bioflytech anticipates the campus to span more than 140,000 square meters (more than 1.5 million square feet).

In terms of capacity, Bioflytech expects to produce 12,000 tonnes of fresh BSFL annually once the proper authorization has been obtained for the larvae fattening process, according to the company. This will increase to 100,000 tonnes per year following its next expansion phase.

At its Fuente Álamo facility, the company plans to invest €2.8 million ($3 million USD) in the second half of 2024 to increase its hatchery capacity, which supplies larvae eggs for its operations there. Current larvae egg capacity at Fuente Álamo is 180 kilos per month, “which is already a milestone in the sector worldwide,” Bioflytech shared. Following the multi-million-Euro investment, the company will expand capacity to 350 kilos of larvae eggs per month. The company’s total fresh larvae production capacity in Fuente Álamo is 4,000 tonnes annually. 

Bioflytech is owned by Moira Capital Partners, which acquired a majority stake in the company in 2018. The BSFL ingredient supplier is focused on providing dried larvae, high-protein meals, fats and compost, all derived from insects.

Read more about insect-based ingredients in the pet nutrition space.