In the framework of the newly established working group “Circular Bioeconomy as a tool to increase the competitiveness of SMEs” a new online event series called “Sharing Knowledge about…” was launched.

The first event of this online series took place on Monday, November 20th, 2023 on the topic of Insect Biorefineries and AI solutions.

Interesting projects and insights were presented by three impressive speakers:

Heinrich Katz, CEO of Hermetia GmbH in Baruth (Germany), is one of the leading experts in the field of insect breeding and presented the possible uses of insects in the food and feed sectors as well as the legal barriers in Europe.

His presentation was focused mainly on the Black Soldier Fly and its use for animal feed. He also explained that insect protein contains all essential amino acids and that it’s the best replacement product known for fish meal.

If you want to learn more, find Mr. Katz’s presentation here: Insect Protein alternative Protein Source 2023

Afterwards, Dr. Susanne Zibek, Group Leader of Bioprocess Development at Fraunhofer IGB, presented the project InBiRa, an ERDF-funded insect biorefinery demonstration plant in Stuttgart-Vaihingen that uses insects to produce high-quality proteins and fats for the chemical industry.

She presented how fuels, lubricants, or biosurfactants can be produced from the insect fats since they are rich in medium-chain fatty acids which can also be found in tropical coconut fat and palm kernel oil.

You can find Dr. Zibek’s presentation here for more information: Präsentation_InBiRa_allgemein_finalENG_open

Jon Goriup, CEO of VGC.AI, was the last speaker. He presented key success factors for the insect biorefineries, how Artificial Intelligence can help various business models and he also highlighted the market insights regarding current and future opportunities and how the use of AI can increase turnover.