BUGBOX SIGNED

Project "BUGBOX" data sheet

The following table provides information about the project.

 Partnership

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 Project objective

BugBox OÜ was founded in 2015 with the mission to provide a scalable fully automated mass rearing and production technology for the edible insect industry. The rapidly rising population has caused an increasing demand for meat and dairy products resulting in over-consumption and increasing need for land, water and energy resources. The resources must be used more effectively to ensure environmental sustainability. Rearing insects has a much smaller ecological footprint than common farming, making it a more efficient and environmentally sustainable way of producing protein.

Currently there are only manual methods used for rearing insects, which are not capable to rear and produce the insect-based proteins cost-efficiently, in large-scale and high quality. BugBox is developing a fully automatic technology which will enable to produce insects in larger amounts and more cost-efficiently than today’s manual method. The key components of BugBox’s technology are: fully automated mass rearing reactor, sensors and IT-platform. BugBox’s technology will be over 200x more productive and over 10x more affordable than current manual farms.

BugBox has carried out intensive research in entomology field and has currently a light prototype of a rearing reactor which needs to be tested and demonstrated in relevant environment (with different insect species, in different geographical locations and conditions). The objective of Phase 1 project is to assess the technical feasibility, scalability and economic viability of mass rearing and production technology by demonstrating the reactor in different environmental conditions.

Target users of BugBox technology are: 1) farmers of edible insects; 2) producers of protein powders, oils and other sub-products; 3) food, snack and beverage producers.