| Press Release |
Insect protein Swedish leader Tebrito to bring innovative and climate-smart alternative fish feed at scale
STOCKHOLM, October 1st, 2020
Tebrito is one of 10 selected companies to bring innovation at scale to the fish feed scene. 100+ applicants were screened by Project X and 10 companies were finally chosen by an industry expert jury during a London event in September 2019. Partners to the initiative include Skretting, IKEA, DTU Aqua, WWF, Cambridge University, Surrey University, DNV GL, and the World Bank. Prominent partners like EIT Climate-KIC also too part to the event as independent observers.
The aquaculture industry has shown considerable interest to the development of novel ingredients in recent years, and made significant investments in R&D. “It is essential for us that these new ingredients are not only safe and sustainable, but also ensure that the end product maintains the nutritional benefits we have come to expect from high quality seafood,” says Jenna Bowyer from Skretting. “The aquaculture industry is very large and growing, and it is essential for us to see novel ingredients brought to commercial scale.”
A 30 million tonne projected increase in aquaculture production in the near future means there will be a need for an additional 45 million tonnes of raw materials; commercial production of insect meal can help to meet this demand in a sustainable way, contributing to a circular bioeconomy.
Combining best-in-class extraction process, automation, and circular raw material sourcing, Tebrito upcycles low value side-streams into high-quality protein. The growing start-up invests in new machinery to increase production volumes to meet a rising demand.
“Providing a true alternative in quality and usability is a key concern to us” explains Nils Österström, Tebrito’s CEO. “Building on a circular model we seek to provide equivalent functional properties – certain Salmonidae species can include up to 70% insects in their diets – that are natural, climate efficient and also contribute to reduce the use of antibiotics”.
“Our approach to use insects as catalysts to upscale under-utilized biomass into protein applications led us to tie a partnership and further innovate. Sweden is 70% covered by forest and we co-develop a promising solution with Swedish pulp and paper industry giant SCA to feed our larvae with bio sludge” adds Bertrand Giorgi, Tebrito’s COO. “The ultimate goal is to deliver a virtually carbon-negative feed to farmed fish from a short local circuit”.
