Why an insect pilot plant?

Purpose and Design of an Insect Pilot Plant

• How do we define a pilot??
• Purpose & objective of a pilot plant.
• Costs of the pilot plant?
• The size and technology used, what do we define as large-scale?
• Considerations to apply either wet- or dry-processing.
• Minimum-viable-product (MVP),?end-product specifications.

We come across three common reasons why companies want or need a pilot plant:

1.?????Risk and cost reduction in advance of an up-scale.

2.?????Applying for government subsidies.

3.?????Technology development & patents to attract (potential) investors.

• Risk-reduction can be straight forward risk mitigation before carrying out costly investments, or, for example, for the validation of specific waste feed sources. However, for many companies the reason for setting-up a pilot is to gain experience for reproduction breeding?and doing internal engineering. We strongly advise against setting up a pilot to cover knowledge-gaps that should be within the expertise of the organisation before starting to do any form of upscaling. If your purpose is speed-to-market, and producing end-products, having a team of equipment development engineers should be a big question mark as well.
• Government subsidies are a very valid reason for a pilot, since funding programmes always require to accomplish some concrete predefined results before being eligible for new funds. But such a unit, we consider more a Demo- or Showcase-plant.
• Technology and patents are definitely a reason for needing a production and trail unit. However, the focus often becomes about everything else expect showing tangible end-products and waste processing. Although such an enterprise is not anymore about insect protein production, it's great that many producers have shifted to offering their equipment.

Depending on the combination of points 1 to 3, and why a company?thinks?they need a?pilot-unit, everyone defines a pilot plant differently,?and how the success of objectives and KPIs will be measured. And we see a wide range of what companies consider a pilot plant:

It is clear that due to the different economic conditions in different countries, access to funding, expertise and information about larger operations, there is not one?standard best way to do things?during the early years of a start-up. However, once up-scaling looms on the horizon, and a serious pilot plant needs to be considered, there are three important rules-of-thumb that can help to define your focus:

• 75% of the operations in a large insect factory are standard technologies, used in other related industries.
• This 75% is the core-technology of your factory and your pilot plant.
• You should spend 0% of your time thinking about that 75%.

Evidently, if speed-to-market is your goal, to come to a properly designed pilot plan, the focus of your activities should be on the definition of that 25% that you may want to keep more confidential, and outsource the 75% as soon as possible to the suitable engineering partners and equipment suppliers.

First things first…

What is a pilot plant? A pilot plant is a small-scale version of the larger plant, as envisaged beforehand. Using the same technology and machines, carrying out the same operations, and producing the same end-products. This also means that the large-scale end-version, should already be on paper, costed and budgeted.

Similarly, if a?supplier offers a pilot plant, but without the design and costing of the large-scale version, the MVP and the corresponding CAPEX and OPEX, is not advisable to get into such models.

There may be several definitions and opinions of what a pilot plant is. The most practical way to think of a pilot plant, is by considering what we would?understand?when we talk of a pilot plant in another similar sector in the food or feed industries. For example, a cheese pilot plant or a pet-food pilot plant.?

Considering the example of the cheese, such a pilot plant would focus 100% on producing cheese in the?same?way as the future large-scale version; testing and tweaking some of the machines; validating the pasteurisation and cleaning protocols; improving cycle times; optimising milk acidity, rennet and starter-culture ratios; defining temperature and humidity profiles for the maturation chambers, etc. All the parameters necessary in the large factory.

Most likely the activities would not be focussed on demonstrating the beneficial properties of milk; studying cow-genetics; developing own proprietary holding tanks or pasteurisation technology.?

(As mentioned in our previous article?Insect Start-ups: Scale-up or Exit? There is plenty of interest and opportunities for companies developing those?other?activities, but for such companies a classic insect “pilot plant” is not advisable as they can a different focus, and can mostly probably achieve their goals without getting too much into regular insect production).

What is the?function and objective?of a Pilot Plant? The objective of a pilot plant is then to correctly model at a smaller scale the complete process and operations, as will be implemented later in the larger scale factory; therefore, the design of the pilot and the factory should be equal and interchangeable. For instance, there is no point in using crates of 60x40cm in a pilot, if you already know that the large factory will be using 120x80cm.

If your purpose is to validate feedstocks or learn about fly reproduction, eggs, then a small R&D facility is much more suitable, but formally this is not a pilot plant.

The Pilot-to-FlyFactory model

Starting from the definitions provided previously, our Insect.Systems pilot-to-factory model, is a model by which we?first?define the concept of the end-factory. Then based on that, the pilot plant is designed as a?resultant?of the design of the end large-scale factory.

In the past, the first insect companies have had to develop their own suite of technology or combination of systems, but presently for the insect companies looking to scale-up, there are at least 2-3 solid models available that deliver the end-factory and the corresponding pilot.

As Insect.Systems, we work with one of these suppliers for which the end-factory can be visited and the pilot plant installed anywhere required, primarily with the aim to train personnel and?define?(not the same as validate)?the waste stream mixture and ratios.?

Cost of technology vs own generic pilot. We get consistent feedback that the main driver for start-ups to want to develop their own technology solutions from scratch, is the high costs of equipment they encounter for their small-scale unit, and the perceived high costs they will face for the industrial large-scale at a later stage.

Although the general sentiment in the insect industry, is that there is a lack of suitable technology and factories that actually work, at Insect.Systems we rather see that the problem is that most companies find the current technology too expensive, the cost and availability of feedstock too high, and the prices for the meal, oil and frass too low to close their commercial model.

Therefore, as a sector, we place the blame on the price of technology, but aren't the business models on which we make our calculations the underlying issue?

If we consider how the sector has itself positioned insect meal as a bulk feed, and as a replacement for fish-meal, it makes even less sense to blame the technology. A medium to large sized fishmeal plant easily costs ~ US$ 15-20 million, produces 10-15.000 tons meal per year, and consists only of the fish milling and wet processing to make dry meal and lipids. It does not include general processing of waste feedstocks, no rearing-growing, and no reproduction-breeding, as we have with the insects.??How much then?do?we expect an insect factory should cost in the real world?

Similarly, for small insect operations, there is no equipment?available to process waste streams at < 1 m3?per day, or process larvae to end-products at less than 300 kg /hr.

The end result is that many of the insect start-ups set-up a pilot plant with the intention of overcoming their own knowledge gaps, developing their own technology, and working on tweaks rather than actually producing meal and preparing for up-scaling.

Clearly not all companies are ready or have the funds to jump into a large-scale adventure from scratch, and hence the corresponding pilot plant remains a vague idea. It is precisely the technology gap that we tackle with our Pilot-to-Factory approach: Project planning, calculations, blueprints, equipment and systems list, that make sense and bare resemblance to the future large size. The risks of not defining the end-factory from the beginning are probably very recognisable:

• Remain trapped in being an endless validation plant.
• Validation of technology or procedures that will have to be redone at each scale of growth
• Without the CAPEX/OPEX costs as in the end-factory, the production costs will remain unknown. See some of our CAPEX estimations
• Attracting investors is more difficult without a clear and concrete up-scaling plan

So, what can be done to avoid such pitfalls and implement a pilot-plant successfully?

Recommendations for companies wanting to take?smaller scale-up steps

1. Focus on end-products.?If you have decided to build a pilot plant, focus and start on the end-products definition, end-products specifications, MVP, not on machine or equipment trails. That should follow from the end-product requirements; not the other way round.
2. Define target and objectives.?If not focussing on the end-products, it might be better to refer to your operation as R&D, lab or validation plant rather than a pilot plant. This will reduce the pressure to deliver a rapid market solution.?
3. Cost of equipment.?Pilot equipment to produce proper end-products will be costly, there are no short cuts, as some equipment, for example, is not available to process waste streams at < 1 m3?per day, or process larvae to end-products at less than 300 kg /hr.
4. Outsource.?Involve as early as possible experts to help you leap-frog over the technology aspects, on which you don’t want to spend your time, and that you know are not IP sensitive: A sieve, HAVC, conveyor and internal crate handling, feed dosing, etc.
5. Time-line.?If you skip points 1-to-4, this most likely add 2-3 years of redoing many of the steps over and over.?

Recommendations for companies wanting to take?large scale-up steps

1. Pilot-to-FlyFactory.?Only engage with suppliers that start and cost the end-factory, and then base your pilot plant on that end-goal. Ideally, integrating your current experience, methods and procedures. The pilot should cover all sections of the operations, and performance guarantee.
2. Pilot included in the budget.?If a factory design is solid, that supplier must be able to include the pilot as part of the large-scale project. This means included in the costing, but also on the function and use once the larger factory is running. For example, that in a later stage the pilot becomes the training and trial unit, or as a back-up security brood-colony.
3. Allowed waste streams.?For a first factory, focus on allowed, traceable waste streams, and avoid manure, sludge and other waste streams that are questionable. In a second operation this can be reevaluated.

We hope this article provides more perspective on how to set-up your insect pilot plant. If you have already embarked in the process of designing and buying equipment, the recommendations on the focus and approach can still help, as 3/4 of your operations should not be very different.

For more information of out Pilot-to-FlyFactory approach, please contact us at [email protected]

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