(Boursier.com) — Agronutris, a French biotechnology mission company specializing in the breeding and transformation of insects into proteins for food, brought together more than 200 people, including Nicolas Dufourcq, general manager of Bpifrance, on Thursday October 19, 2023 to inaugurate its first industrial production unit located in the Ardennes.
Its main institutional, financial and industrial partners were present to celebrate this new major step which confirms the success of its move to an industrial scale.
In October 2021, Agronutris raised 100 million euros to industrialize its innovative model of sustainable insect-based proteins, half of which in equity, notably from the SPI fund managed on behalf of the State by Bpifrance and the Mirova impact fund (subsidiary of Natixis Investment Managers).
60 direct jobs created
Two years later, its first 16,000 m2 factory is already operational… A feat made possible thanks to strong partnerships with companies such as Pingat for the construction of the building, Bühler for the processes and Engie Solutions for the utilities. The arrival of its first insects, from the end of 2022, allowed a gradual ramp-up, guaranteeing quality and homogeneity of its finished products. The first commercial contracts were signed in the spring, notably with Biomar, an international leader in sustainable feed for farmed fish.
With 60 direct jobs created by the end of the year, Agronutris is participating in the reindustrialization of France in the Ardennes… And this is just the beginning!
The company plans to set up a second adjacent factory which will create one of the largest industrial sites in the world dedicated to insects, with the creation of 200 jobs in the Rethelo area in the coming years.
The inauguration of its factory is an opportunity for Agronutris to highlight all of its partners without whom this adventure would not exist.
“We would like to thank everyone who believed in us from the start: our financiers including Bpifrance, Mirova, our banking and institutional partners notably through the France Relance plan, as well as local authorities including the town hall of Rethel, the Community of Communes of Pays Rethélois or the Grand Est Region. We are proud to celebrate a new stage in our project to invent a healthy and sustainable solution for the food of tomorrow” – Mehdi Berrada and Cédric Auriol, co-founders from Agronutris.
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