The Farmÿng project aims to create the world’s largest fully automated industrial plant for producing high-quality proteins from insects. ULMA is taking part in Farmÿng, an European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation project.
ULMA Handling Systems is taking part in the Farmÿng project, which is a public-private initiative under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme. The Farmÿng project aims to build the world’s largest fully automated vertical industrial plant for the production of insect ingredients, called ΫnFarmTM. This plant is capable of producing 20,000 tons of premium proteins per year.
As a participating entity, ULMA Handling Systems will contribute its expertise in automated intralogistics to establish a model of the future logistical flows of the automated vertical industrial plant. ULMA has been selected to design and supply the automated storage system and the robotic islands.
The innovative concept of vertical farming involves stacking large trays (2.4m x 1.2m) containing mealworms in an automated warehouse. At scheduled intervals, the trays are de-stacked and sent to robotic islands for feeding and/or sorting.
The robotic islands involve high-speed handling during which trays are de-stacked, transported, returned, emptied, washed, refilled, and restacked. Before the manufacture of the equipment, ULMA will carry out a prototyping phase consisting of a test loop to ensure the efficient operation of the entire system.
Farmÿng, meeting the rising protein demand
The Farmÿng project is coordinated by Ynsect, a company that operates in the fields of environmental biotechnology and the feed industry. Ynsect uses insects to bioconvert organic substrates and transforms them into premium ingredients for fish and pets. 17 other companies from different industrial fields are also involved in the project.