Finnish Startup Volare Secures €7.1 Mn and Opens First Industrial-Scale Insect Protein Plant

The funding was raised through Springvest, with support from both new and existing investors, including venture capital firm Maki.vc.

“Volare 01 proves that our technology and production model work at industrial scale. We delivered the factory on schedule and on budget, demonstrating our ability to build production capacity cost-effectively and laying a strong foundation for further growth,” said Jarna Hyvönen, CEO and co-founder of Volare.

“Europe needs significantly more locally produced protein, and we have built a model that can deliver it efficiently and competitively. Our next step is to replicate our model from Finland and bring more local, efficient protein production capacity to Europe and beyond,” Hyvönen added.

Founded in 2021 by Tuure Parviainen, Matti Tähtinen and Hyvönen, Volare started as a spin-off from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The company began developing its technology in 2014 and has since moved from laboratory research to industrial production.

Volare uses black soldier flies to turn food industry by-products into useful ingredients. The company describes these insects as nature’s own bioreactors because they can convert food waste into valuable protein and oil.

The process is simple. The insects feed on by-products from the food industry and turn them into protein and oil in about a week of active growth. Volare has developed an automated production system that manages the entire process, from raising the larvae to producing the finished ingredients.

According to the company, its production facility does not generate process wastewater and runs entirely on non-fossil energy. The system is also designed to operate with just four employees per shift, helping keep daily operations efficient.

The new Volare 01 facility covers 10,000 square metres and is designed to produce up to 5,000 tonnes of insect protein and 2,000 tonnes of insect oil each year. These ingredients will be supplied to manufacturers of aquaculture feed, pet food and poultry feed. The company built the facility inside a former newspaper printing hall instead of constructing a new building from scratch, helping reduce construction work and costs.

Volare says the facility was completed on schedule and within its €15 million budget. Volare 01 represents a 1,000-fold increase in production capacity compared with its demonstration plant. Despite this major expansion, the company continues to use the same production process that has been commercially tested over four years.

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