Grand opening of Northern Europe’s largest insect factory

Covering 22,000 square meters, processing 100 tons of larvae per day, and yielding more than 10,000 tons of insect meal annually. These figures characterize the newly constructed Enorm Biofactory in Eastern Jutland, Denmark.

The locally produced insect proteins have the potential to replace other kind of proteins imported today. Insect meal can also substitute highly digestible animal protein sources such as fish meal, making it applicable in both livestock production and the fishing industry. Through by-products from the food industry Enorm Biofactory upcycles low-value products into high-value proteins. Ultimately, the goal is to incorporate insects into food products.

Years of effort

The leadership behind Enorm Biofactory consists of Carsten Lind Pedersen, Jane Lind Sam (father and daughter), and Arne Holst Lauridsen. Carsten Lind Pedersen, Co-founder and CEO of Enorm Biofactory, states:

"Today, we celebrate several years of hard work, where skilled colleagues and numerous partners have made this project possible. Now, the next phase begins, where we need to scale up the production to full operation."

The construction of the insect factory has been underway since 2022, with various stakeholders, including the agricultural company, DLG, that became co-owner of Enorm Biofactory. The opening of the factory is also met with enthusiasm at DLG. Jesper Pagh, Group COO at DLG, expresses:

"This project is a textbook example of the direction our business is moving towards. Enorm Biofactory is a fantastic story of Danish innovation that can provide alternative protein sources for farmers. Now, we look forward to the production getting underway and being commercialized."

Upcycling from food industry

Both insect meal and insect oil, which have already shown promising results in test trials on farms, are produced from the Black Soldier Fly. These flies mate and lay eggs, which hatch into larvae. The larvae are fed primarily through by-products from the food industry. After approximately 12 days, the larvae are processed into oil and protein. When the factory is in full operation, it will produce 100 tons of larvae per day.

"We are now ready to receive large quantities of by-products from the food industry. A prime example is Arla Foods Ingredients P/S, which can reduce their food waste by 16% from their factory, Danmark Protein, in Videbæk. This is because by-products from production are upcycled into feed instead of being sold for biogas. We hope that more Danish food producers will take responsibility for recycling nutrients through larvae because circularity is one of the keys to developing a sustainable food industry," says Carsten L. Pedersen, adding,

"We were recently told that we were the 'best-kept secret' in the insect industry. That's no longer the case. Now we are going to sell some products."

High expectations

DLG also has high expectations for Enorm Biofactory's products. Troels Møller Olesen, Director of Animal Nutrition at DLG, says,

"Both in the short and long term, we see very interesting perspectives in insect production. The initial results from our trials with both insect meal and insect oil show positive trends. We expect a potential where we have only seen the tip of the iceberg."

Enorm Biofactory anticipates that more than 2,000 participants will attend the opening throughout the day.