Volare opens 5,000-tonne insect protein facility in Finland, raises €7.1m

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Finnish insect protein company Volare has today (26 October 2026) announced the completion of its first industrial-scale factory, alongside raising €7.1 million in new capital.

The 10,000-square-metre plant, located in Pori, Finland, aims to produce up to 5,000 tonnes of insect protein and 2,000 tonnes of insect oil annually from food industry side streams. The company aims to boost the resilience and sustainability of the global food system with a circular, waste-reduced approach, taking byproducts – such as inedible parts of grains – and turning them into fertiliser, pet food and animal feed ingredients.

Named ‘Volare 01,’ the site represents a 1,000x scale-up from the company’s demonstration plant. It will support Volare as it prepares for its next growth phase, with eyes on a second factory and international expansion plans.

The new factory was delivered within the company’s €15 million CAPEX budget. Meanwhile, the €7.1 million in new funding was raised through Springvest, with support from new and existing investors including Maki.VC. It will contribute toward the second industrial-scale facility, alongside plans to replicate its production model across Europe and beyond.

Founded in 2021 as a spin-out from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Volare has built a proprietary, automated production process built around what it calls ‘nature’s own bioreactor’ – the black soldier fly, which converts food industry side streams into valuable nutrients.

The company’s protein meal delivers over 90% digestibility and is already used commercially in aquafeeds, pet food and poultry feeds.

Volare’s tech platform covers the full production chain, from larvae rearing to finished protein and oil. According to Volare, compared with other insect-based producers, its factory requires four to ten times lower CAPEX and 30% less energy in end-product processing.

Additionally, the fully electric and fossil fuel-free facility is designed to operate with just four people per shift and produces no process wastewater, Volare said.

Jarna Hyvönen, CEO and co-founder of Volare, commented: “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.”