Volare, a new spinoff startup from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, raised €0.7M in funding.
Maki.vc made the investment.
Co-founded by CEO Tuure Parviainen and CTO Matti Tähtinen, and also led by newly named COO Jarna Hyvönen, Volare uses food production side streams, such as non-edible parts of grains, to produce high-quality proteins and oils in order to replace other animal proteins, soy and palm oil. At VTT, the team has developed a method of producing high-quality proteins and oils from the side streams of the food industry, such as non-edible parts of grains. The method is used to efficiently grow black soldier flies on a commercial scale. The technological solution includes growing the insects and processing them into an industry-compatible end product. The environmental load caused by this production is negligible compared to traditional alternatives.
The company already has a pilot plant up and running and is aiming for rapid growth. Its goal is to start the construction of a commercial scale production plant in 2023 and to subsequently build several plants in Europe every year. For example, one commercial establishment can feed 4.75 million salmon per year.
The company already employs six people, and the number of staff will be growing to ten this year.
FinSMEs
17/06/2021