Finland's Volare Opens Industrial Insect Protein Factory, Raises €7.1 Million

Volare's technology centres on the black soldier fly, which the company describes as a natural bioreactor. The insect is fed food-industry side streams and, within roughly a week of active growth, converts them into protein and oil. The company has developed a highly automated process covering the full chain, from rearing larvae to finished ingredients. According to the company, the facility produces no process wastewater, runs entirely on non-fossil fuel energy, and operates with four people per shift.

Founded in 2021, Volare was spun out of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, with work on the underlying technology dating back to 2014. Its co-founders are Jarna Hyvönen, Tuure Parviainen, and Matti Tähtinen. Parviainen, an agronomist, previously researched biomass at the University of Helsinki and worked in the biogas sector, while Tähtinen, an engineer, worked on energy and circular economy research at VTT, Tech.eu reported.

EU-Startups reported that Hyvönen, the company's CEO and co-founder, said Volare 01 proves its technology and production model work at industrial scale, and that delivering the factory on schedule and on budget demonstrates the company's ability to build production capacity cost-effectively.

Two Venture Funds Close in Africa and Italy as Local Capital Takes Lead

DPI Venture Capital closed its $112 million Nclude Fund with 93% of capital from Africa, while Italy's Z_One Fund raised over €35 million at first close.