What happens when three start-ups combine their technologies and expertise? Kinsect, Reploid and Solos are working together to create a circular system that connects regional food by-products, insect farming and aquaponics. 

The Italian start-up Kinsect develops technologies for the industrial breeding of black soldier flies and supplies both eggs and young larvae. Reploid, an Austrian start-up, designs modular facilities in which the larvae convert organic by-products into protein-rich animal feed and fertiliser. South Tyrolean start-up Solos operates an aquaponics system that combines fish farming with the cultivation of herbs and lettuce. 

At the Solos site in Termeno, these complementary technologies are now coming together. The larvae supplied by Kinsect are reared in a Reploid facility and fed with food by-products such as apple pomace, potatoes and surplus bread. Solos then uses the larvae as a sustainable feed source in its fish farming system. The goal is to reduce the use of fishmeal, make valuable use of regional organic by-products, and create a more sustainable, closed-loop system. 

The NOI Start-up Incubator team supports all three start-ups throughout this process. We connect them with selected companies and partners, develop tailored financing strategies with them, facilitate access to suitable funding opportunities, and provide comprehensive support as their businesses grow. They also benefit from the wider NOI Techpark network and its services. 

Watch the video to see how three innovative solutions come together to create one circular system: