Agritech firm Roslin Technologies has invested in a Singapore-based business called Protenga, which farms black soldier fly insects to produce animal feed and fertiliser.
The investment will pay for a new facility near the company’s HQ, which will focus on applying enhanced breeding technologies to develop improved insect lines together with Protenga for the global market.
Growing insects uses less water, space, energy and time than growing other food sources. Protenga’s production line also generates organic material for fertiliser, through a process similar to composting.
Glen Illing, chief executive of Roslin Technologies said: “This investment is the start of our journey into the insect protein and nutrition market. Protenga has the right technologies, capabilities and culture to succeed in providing new sustainable production and waste bioconversion practices using black soldier fly. We are also excited about applying enhanced breeding technologies to develop improved insect lines from a new genetic nucleus facility to be built soon near Edinburgh. Protenga is at the cutting edge of sustainable protein production and is the next important building block in our portfolio of AgriTech ventures.”
Leo Wein, CEO of Protenga, commented: “We are very excited to partner with Roslin Technologies’ team to drive and scale up our insect production and bioconversion technologies together across our key markets. We are also delighted to receive the support and funding from SEEDS Capital in our pursuit of driving necessary change in the global food supply chain. Production and bioconversion opportunities using the black soldier fly platform are enormous and working with Roslin Technologies provides the perfect opportunity to expand our capabilities.”
