By the end of 2020, InnovaFeed will start production in Nesle of the largest insect breeding unit in the world. This new generation plant will be organised in industrial symbiosis with existing local players, such as the biomass cogeneration plant operated by Kogeban. A virtuous strategic partnership allowing (i) Kogeban to optimise its thermodynamic efficiency by recycling previously unused energy and (ii) InnovaFeed to obtain a sustainable supply of energy, 60% of which comes from recycled waste energy and 40% from locally produced biomass
LE RECYCLAGE ENERGETIQUE COMME PILIER D’UN NOUVEAU MODELE INDUSTRIEL : 87 GWh D’ECONOMIES ANNUELLES
“The innovative nature of our industrial processes allows us to envisage new applications for very low temperature energy flows [i.e. below 70°C], which until now have not been used on an industrial scale. In concrete terms, we have co-designed, with our partner Picardie Biomasse Energie [PBE], a complete waste heat recovery system providing 60% of InnovaFeed’s total energy needs at Nesle.”
explains Clément Ray, Co-founder of InnovaFeed.
By improving Kogeban’s thermodynamic cycle, the two players have created a doubly virtuous energy recycling system based on a carbon-neutral primary energy source, since it comes from sustainably managed biomass, and the new recovery of 87 GWh per year of waste energy. For the design of the waste heat recovery system, Kogeban benefited from the support of PBE: “The mobilisation of cutting-edge engineering was decisive in making it possible to recover this energy, which is usually neglected due to the lack of very low temperature consumption. Thanks to the expertise of our teams, we have been able to design a system that guarantees a sustainable and stable supply to InnovaFeed without prejudice to the other consumers of the unit,” says Jean-François Saujet, CEO of PBE.
FRENCH EXPERTISE AND JOB CREATION
“We are particularly proud to have maximised the environmental and economic performance of this new generation industrial unit by going beyond the traditional client-supplier transactional approach between our two companies. We strongly believe in this ecosystemic vision which has led to the signing of a long-term contract consolidating the local industrial ecosystem”
underlines Pierre-Adrien Baudelet, Managing Director of Kogeban.
As a pillar of InnovaFeed’s industrial model, the local development of resources and skills in a short loop contributes to giving the project a strong human and social dimension, through the creation and perpetuation of jobs in the Hauts-de-France region.
By sourcing 100% (240,000 t/year) of its wood from PEFC-certified supply partners within a 100 km radius of the Nesle site, Kogeban’s activity creates 60 indirect jobs. By aiming to produce 15,000 tonnes of insect protein per year, InnovaFeed will create 110 direct jobs in Nesle. The emergence of this new entomo-industry [insect industry] will be made possible by the development of tailor-made training programmes and the recruitment of highly qualified profiles, thus contributing to the densification of the local skills base.
Specific skills that are increasingly sought after at both national and international levels. Thanks to projects such as InnovaFeed in Nesle, France is in the process of establishing itself as the world leader in a high environmental performance insect industry.
