- A pivotal partnership with a global leader in human and
animal nutrition, ADM.
- A strategic presence in Illinois, the heart of America's
corn belt, fostering innovation and driving local growth.
- A dynamic American expansion: Innovafeed, a B
Corp-certified company since 2022, is recognized by Fast Company as
the Most Innovative Company 2024 and accredited by the Pet
Sustainability Coalition for its pet food segment
products.
- ADM and Innovafeed have an exclusive distributorship
agreement for the pet food industry in the U.S., Canada and
Mexico.
Innovafeed, a global leader in the production of insect
ingredients for high-quality animal feed, pet food and plant
nutrition, inaugurated its North American Insect Innovation
Center (NAIIC) in Decatur, Illinois on the 18th of April. This
pilot plant is the first step of the rising French agtech’s
industrial expansion to North America and aims to scale up
production and commercialization of insect protein in the USA.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240418174226/en/
Opening new horizons: Governor JB
Pritzker joined local and international leaders to celebrate the
inauguration of Innovafeed's first North American facility in
Decatur, Illinois. Pictured left to right: Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Kristin Richards,
Decatur Economic Development Corporation President Nicole Bateman,
Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe, Greater Decatur Chamber of
Commerce President Mirinda Rothrock, State of Illinois Governor JB
Pritzker, Innovafeed CEO Clément Ray, ADM SVP and President of
Carbohydrate Solutions Chris Cuddy, Consulate General of France
Clément Calais, ADM Animal Nutrition North America President Simon
Walley, Innovafeed U.S. General Manager Maye Walraven. (Photo:
Business Wire)
Innovafeed breeds Hermetia illucens, also known as black soldier
flies, in state-of-the-art indoor farms, while efficiently
repurposing agricultural by-products from its strategic partner,
ADM, in a pioneering zero-waste framework. This innovative process
yields insect meal, oil, and soil amendment, which Innovafeed
markets under the brand Hilucia™.
The inauguration of NAIIC will be a milestone in Innovafeed’s
expansion in North America. The choice of Decatur, Illinois, is not
coincidental: located in the heart of the corn belt adjacent to
ADM’s North American headquarters and the world’s largest corn mill
operations, with hundreds of processing plants across multiple
States, the region offers high potential for multiple sites to be
deployed in the future. The broader area is also a historical
innovation hub for the agro-industry, making it a strategic
location for Innovafeed to serve its core markets. Since 2023, the
company in partnership with ADM, already has commercialized
Hilucia™ insect ingredients for the pet food market in North
America. As part of this effort, ADM has invested in a
comprehensive R&D study at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, with results to be released later this year
demonstrating the nutritional and health benefits of its
ingredients. Future opportunities with other types of animal feed
are also being explored as part of the comprehensive partnership
between the two companies.
“We are thrilled to partner with Innovafeed on this exciting
project that highlights our commitment to responsible and
sustainable sourcing. Our collaboration is a great example of how
we are constantly seeking innovative solutions to meet the growing
demand for alternative protein sources in animal and pet products.
By expanding our value chain and offering collaboration
opportunities to leading, innovative partners, we are positioning
ADM as the provider of choice for responsible, sustainable
materials across the food, beverage, feed, fuel, consumer product
and industrial spaces. We are proud to be a part of this
job-creating project and look forward to the positive impact it
will have on our communities,” says ADM Senior Vice President
and President of ADM’s Carbohydrate Solutions business, Chris
Cuddy.
A pipeline will connect the plant to the ADM’s corn processing
wet mill, allowing it to directly recover up to 300,000 tons per
year of by-products. These by-products will be transformed into
high-quality insect ingredients producing up to 60,000 metric tons
of animal feed protein derived from Hermetia Illucens.
Additionally, it will generate 20,000 metric tons of oils for
poultry and swine rations each year, along with 400,000 metric tons
of soil amendment. In Decatur, the planned large-scale
manufacturing facility will replicate an industrial symbiosis model
pioneered by Innovafeed in France. A comprehensive Life Cycle
Analysis (LCA) is still to be conducted at the NAIIC.
“We chose Decatur for our first U.S. operation because of its
location in the heart of the Midwest corn belt and its proximity to
our partner ADM and other agribusiness leaders. ADM’s corn
by-products are a rich resource that we will leverage to fuel our
black soldier fly production. At the same time, this circular
process will present a tangible solution to contribute to our
Mission and the US Department of Energy’s objectives of
decarbonizing the industrial sector,” says Clément Ray,
CEO of Innovafeed.
Innovafeed is delighted to welcome the presence of Governor JB
Pritzker at our inauguration, which underscores Illinois's
commitment to innovation, sustainability, and its pivotal role in
driving both local and global economic impact within the United
States.
“Innovative, exciting new approaches to agricultural and
environmental challenges are what Illinois is all about, from the
invention of the farm silo to global leaders like Innovafeed,”
said Governor JB Pritzker. “This expansion, perfectly
situated in Illinois’s rich corn country, demonstrates a commitment
to Illinois as a place to grow and continue to innovate, and I’m
glad to welcome Innovafeed to Illinois.”
Finally, the plant is proudly part of a local ecosystem of
industrial projects in Decatur that are poised to create
future-focused jobs and help solidify the region as a catalyst for
local economic growth and innovation.
"As the project expands, we believe Innovafeed can benefit
from a strongly qualified local workforce, as well as contribute to
developing new skills specific to our innovative industry.
Furthermore, we envision Decatur as a promising hub for innovation
with many opportunities for collaboration between Innovafeed and
the neighboring projects that have recently been announced in the
area,” says Maye Walraven, US General Manager for
Innovafeed.
Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe added, “The
inauguration of Innovafeed’s first U.S. location is another huge
win for Decatur and is a prime example of what innovation and
growth looks like in central Illinois. The northeast quadrant of
Decatur will look very different in the coming years, and we are
excited to see the future of Innovafeed and other synergistic
partners in the area.”
Founded in 2016, Innovafeed currently operates two industrial
plants in northern France, producing insect protein for animal and
pet nutrition. To date, Innovafeed has secured more than $1 billion
in commercial contracts for its fly protein products for the
aquaculture, pet food and poultry feed markets and has introduced
insect ingredients as a viable, affordable, and sustainable source
of animal and pet food, which is now recognized and embraced by
both agribusiness leaders and environmental stewards alike. By
integrating sustainable and innovative solutions, Innovafeed aims
to play a pivotal role in mitigating the environmental impact of
the animal and pet agribusiness sector.
Innovafeed is also proud to announce that it is now a Pet
Sustainability Coalition (PSC) accredited company in the pet
segment, effective from February 2024. Additionally, the company
has been honored with the Most Innovative Company 2024 award by the
prestigious Fast Company Prize. These milestones once again
underscore Innovafeed's international expansion and its commitment
to sustainability and innovation.
ABOUT INNOVAFEED
Innovafeed is a global agtech company and a leader in insect
production (Hermetia illucens - Black Soldier Fly) for animal and
plant nutrition, created in 2016 by three co-founders: Aude Guo,
Bastien Oggeri, and Clément Ray, all driven by the ambition to find
innovative and disruptive solutions to the challenges faced by the
global food system. It develops disruptive technologies that
replicate natural processes on an industrial scale. By building a
circular, waste-free food chain that replicates the natural role of
the insect, Innovafeed reinvents our way of life with increased
quality, sustainability, and resilience for all. Its wide range of
products includes Hilucia™ Protein for aquaculture; Hilucia™ Oil
for monogastrics; and Hilucia™ Frass for plants, a 100% natural
fertilizer made from insect excrement. Innovafeed also offers
Hilucia™ Protein and Oil for pet food. Innovafeed has over 350
pragmatic dreamers for whom performance and positive impact must go
hand in hand to shape the world we will leave to future
generations. To find out more: https://innovafeed.com/en
ABOUT ADM
ADM unlocks the power of nature to enrich the quality of life.
We’re a premier global human and animal nutrition company,
delivering solutions today with an eye to the future. We’re blazing
new trails in health and well-being as our scientists develop
groundbreaking products to support healthier living. We’re a
cutting-edge innovator leading the way to a new future of
plant-based consumer and industrial solutions to replace
petroleum-based products. We’re an unmatched agricultural supply
chain manager and processor, providing food security by connecting
local needs with global capabilities. And we’re a leader in
sustainability, scaling across entire value chains to help
decarbonize our industry and safeguard our planet. From the seed of
the idea to the outcome of the solution, we give customers an edge
in solving the nutritional and sustainability challenges of today
and tomorrow. Learn more at www.adm.com
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240418174226/en/
Innovafeed Nadège Audiffren, Communication Manager + 33 6
64 09 25 94 nadege.audiffren@innovafeed.com
ADM Jackie Anderson, Director, External Communications
312-634-8484 media@adm.com