PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Insect bioconversion using black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens, BSFL) has become an important pillar of the European bioeconomy. BSFL convert diverse organic agri-food by-products and biowastes into nutrient-rich insect biomass and a compost-like nutrient-rich material called insect frass produced as a low-value byproduct. Frass contains excrement, undigested material, insect parts, and moults. Typically, at least 25% of the input leaves insect farms as frass. While often disposed off via biogas plants, it can be used as a low-grade fertiliser after hygienisation, though its valuable components (e.g. chitin, enzymes, antimicrobial peptides, humic acid) remain underutilised.
OBJECTIVES
LIFE Waste4Growth enhances circular economy by converting insect frass into biostimulating organic fertilizers and applying them in agriculture. LIFE Waste4Growth builds on LIFE Waste2Protein that developed a modular and decentralized insect-based biowaste treatment technology and substituted unsustainable soy and fishmeal. However, the major byproduct, insect frass, remains unutilized. Returning insect frass as biostimulating organic fertilizers into agricultural is superior to current uses in biogas plants because it preserves its unique properties to improve environmental quality.
The project will develop and deploy a novel process for recycling insect faeces and chitin by-products from the existing industrial pilot insect farm implemented as part of LIFE Waste2Protein close to Leipzig, Germany. The scalable production process will convert up to 1,500 tonnes of insect faeces per year into a solid and liquid biostimulating organic fertiliser through chitin and fibre functionalisation and microbial enrichment.
The product's functionality will be demonstrated in greenhouse and field trials using potatoes, maize, sugar beet, grapevines and olives. The use of the products by farmers will reduce the area of land with soil quality problems, reduce the vulnerability of crops to droughts associated with climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing synthetic fertilisers, and create green jobs.
Product registration, the development of replication models, business plans and dissemination activities will ensure that the project has a sustainable impact and contributes to a green, prosperous, circular and climate-resilient EU in line with the Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Soil Protection Strategy.
The project will be carried out in Crete, Greece, as well as in Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, focusing on their agricultural significance and challenges, such as poor soil quality and drought caused by climate change. By considering diverse climatic conditions, soil types, and socio-economic contexts, the project aims to develop solutions that are reproducible across European agricultural landscapes.
RESULTS
Expected Results:
- Development of a replicable process to convert insect frass into environmentally friendly, functional biostimulating organic fertilizers.
- Approximately 1,500 tons of insect frass will be transformed into solid and liquid products during the project.
- Post-project rollout of 20 ReFarmUnits over five years will produce a total of 50,000 tons of frass annually (each ReFarmUnit producing 2,500 tons/year), achieved through scaling and replication of the developed production process.
- Approximately 25 hectares of soil will be improved at trial sites across various locations.
- A reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 99 tons CO₂eq per year by the end of the project; five years after project completion, GHG emissions are expected to decrease by 3,342 tons CO₂eq annually across 20 facilities.
- Production of 719 tons of solid biostimulating organic fertilizer annually by the end of the project; this is expected to increase to approximately 23,880 tons per year five years after project completion.
- Production of 3.6 tons of liquid biostimulating organic fertilizer annually by the end of the project, increasing to about 600 tons per year five years later.
- Creation of full-time equivalents (FTEs) across the value chain—including facility operation, processing, sales, marketing, and application—with at least 18 FTEs projected five years beyond project completion.
