The application-oriented project InA (insect-based sustainable aquaculture) aims to establish a flexible, modular, scalable and smart pilot plant for the sustainable inland production of shrimp based on regional side streams and using feed insects (black soldier flies). In close cooperation with partners from industry, a closed polyculture plant is to be set up that is based on natural bio-based material cycles. This platform technology is to be operated under two scenarios - a "high sustainability" scenario (IPCC Mitigation Pathways Compatible with 1.5 °C) and a "moderate sustainability" scenario (IPCC Mitigation Pathways Compatible with 2.0 °C).



The project builds on the BioBall project INFeed (Flexible food production based on biogenic material flows using feed insects), which laid the theoretical foundation for the use of regional side streams for an insect-based feeding strategy for high-quality marine food (blue food). Among other things, InFeed successfully 1) processed biogenic side streams with essential amino acids in such a way that 2) the larval growth of insects was increased and 3) this insect-based feed increased the survival rate of marine shrimp compared to a conventional diet.



The project covers the value chain - from the optimization of side streams as feed to sustainable insect breeding and the construction and operation of a pilot plant. The partners from research (Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU), the Technical University of Central Hesse and the Fraunhofer IME) and industry (Evonik and Royal Exclusiv Aquarien) are working closely together to successfully implement the process. The project receives direct financial support from InsectFish GmbH, Giessen. JLU is providing a research building (biotechnology center) for the pilot plant, which is very wellsuited for vertical farming and has laboratory workstations, climate chambers for insect experiments and a modern ventilation system. 

Klüber, P., Arous, E., Jerschow, J., Fraatz, M., Bakonyi, D., Rühl, M., & Zorn, H. (2024). Fatty acids derived from oviposition systems guide female black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens ) toward egg deposition sites. Insect Science, 31(4), 1231-1248.

 https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.13287 



Klüber, P., Arous, E., Zorn, H., & Rühl, M. (2023). Protein- and carbohydrate-rich supplements in feeding adult black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens) affect life history traits and egg productivity. Life, 13(2), 355.

 https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020355 



Nayak, A., Rühl, M., & Klüber, P. (2023). Hermetia illucens (diptera: stratiomyidae): need, potentiality, and performance measures. Agriculture, 14(1), 8.

 https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14010008 



Kobelski, A., Hempel, AJ, Padmanabha, M., Klüber, P., Wille, LC, & Streif, S. (2024). Model-based process optimization of black soldier fly egg production. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 12, 1404776.

 https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2024.1404776 



Röthig, T., Barth, A., Tschirner, M., Schubert, P., Wenning, M., Billion, A., ... & Vilcinskas, A. (2023). Insect feed in sustainable crustacean aquaculture. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 9(9), 1115-1138.

 https://doi.org/10.3920/JIFF2022.0117 



Tschirner, M. (2024). Insect larvae as sustainable feed in recirculating shrimp aquaculture. In: Equitable and sustainable use of bioresources in Colombia: From concept to practice, edited by K.-Z. Lee, A. M. Aguirre Cañas, D. Morales and C. Bernal-Mattos, pp. 222–233. Stuttgart: Fraunhofer Verlag. 

 https://doi.org/10.24406/publica-3319