DECATUR, ILLINOIS, US — Innovafeed, a global producer of insect ingredients for animal feed, pet food and plant nutrition, has inaugurated its North American Insect Innovation Center (NAIIC) in Decatur, Illinois, US, as part of its burgeoning strategic partnership with ADM.

Opened with an April 18 ribbon-cutting ceremony, the pilot plant is the first step of the French company’s industrial expansion to North America as it scales up production and commercialization of insect protein in the United States.

Innovafeed breeds Hermetia illucens, also known as black soldier flies, in indoor farms, while repurposing agricultural byproducts 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.

With the plant located in the US corn belt adjacent to ADM’s North American headquarters in Decatur and the world’s largest corn mill operations, with hundreds of processing plants across multiple states, the region offers great potential for growth, Innovafeed said.

Innovafeed and ADM already have teamed up to commercialize 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 that demonstrate the nutritional and health benefits of its ingredients. Future opportunities with other types of animal feed also are being explored as part of the companies’ partnership.

“We are thrilled to partner with Innovafeed on this exciting project that highlights our commitment to responsible and sustainable sourcing,” said Chris Cuddy, senior vice president and president of Carbohydrate Solutions at ADM. “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.”

A pipeline will be connected to ADM’s corn processing wet mill, allowing it to directly recover up to 300,000 tonnes per year of byproducts. These byproducts will be transformed into insect ingredients producing up to 60,000 tonnes of animal feed protein derived from Hermetia Illucens. It also will generate 20,000 tonnes of oils for poultry and swine rations each year, along with 400,000 tonnes 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 US operation because of its location in the heart of the Midwest corn belt and its proximity to our partner ADM and other agribusiness leaders,” said Clément Ray, chief executive officer of Innovafeed. “ADM’s corn byproducts 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.”