Ÿnsect

Ynsect is a French pioneer in the industrial production of insect protein from mealworms, for use in animal feed and plant nutrition. Nuutro delivered a complete production line for the extraction of soluble protein from mealworm — from basic engineering through to commissioning. At a project value of +€2 million, this is one of the larger and most technically demanding projects in Nuutro’s portfolio.

The Company

Ynsect develops and operates industrial-scale insect farms. Mealworms are cultivated at scale and processed into high-value protein products for the pet food, aquaculture, and agriculture markets. The proposition is clear: insects are an efficient, sustainable protein source producible with a minimal ecological footprint. The transition from laboratory to industrial production, however, requires process solutions that cannot be sourced off the shelf — Ynsect had them built to measure.

The Challenge

Extracting soluble protein from insect pulp is a complex process. The line incorporates multiple product-specific steps: blanching, solid-liquid separation, hydrolysis, and further separation of protein fractions. Each step requires precise process control to guarantee product quality. The critical complicating factor: insect pulp degrades extremely rapidly. Residence times within the system must be minimised, and any delay has direct consequences for product quality. On top of this, the project was inherently dynamic — Ynsect’s R&D team developed new insights throughout the project that required immediate integration into the live engineering. That demands a partner who can adapt without derailing the project.

Our Approach

Nuutro took full responsibility for the engineering and realisation of the extraction line, from basic engineering through to commissioning. The line processes 300 kg of larvae per hour in a batch-continuous system, yielding approximately 100 litres of soluble protein per hour. The process sequence — blanching, solid-liquid separation, hydrolysis, protein fraction separation — was designed as a fully integrated system with minimal residence time and maximum product quality as primary constraints.

Throughout the project, multiple R&D improvements from Ynsect’s side were directly incorporated into the engineering. That required flexibility in scope management and rapid decision-making — precisely the working method where Nuutro’s integrated approach (engineering and manufacturing under one roof) proves its value. Major multinationals were competing for this project, but Ynsect deliberately chose a partner capable of moving with the reality of innovative product development.

Why Nuutro

René van Vliet, plant director at Ynsect, explains why the choice did not go to GEA or Alfa Laval:

“With projects like these, the large multinationals like GEA or Alfa Laval are often the first to show up. It’s interesting for them because it gives them access to new industries or applications. But we made a very deliberate choice not to go down that route. Nuutro was smaller and for that reason far more agile in handling the changeability of our project. Did R&D come up with an improvement mid-project? Direct implementation was never a problem. Large parties react too sluggishly and you notice they work more for their own agenda than in collaboration. Nuutro only knew our agenda.”

That approach translates into three concrete characteristics:

• Technology independent — no proprietary process technology to sell, so always the solution that best fits the product and process
• Tailored to the project and client — R&D changes mid-project absorbed directly without scope escalation
• Able to take responsibility — complete turnkey delivery from basic engineering to commissioning, single point of contact

Results & Future

The line has been successfully delivered and is operational: 300 kg of larvae per hour in, 100 litres of soluble protein per hour out. Ynsect now has a production process that genuinely bridges the gap from R&D to industrial scale. The project confirms Nuutro’s position as the engineering partner for innovative protein producers who are too complex for small machine builders and too dynamic for large multinationals. Prior insect-processing experience with Protix — the world’s largest insect facility — provides the foundation for that claim.