REPLOID research project ‘Opti2Fly’ receives funding from the German Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space

PRESS RELEASE

REPLOID research project “Opti2Fly” receives funding from the German Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space

• €850,000 in federal funding for a research project under the KMU-innovativ program
• REPLOID leads consortium including TU Dresden and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
• Goal is to develop an AI-powered platform for the automated quality assessment of living larvae for the REPLOID breeding program

WELS, Austria – July 10, 2026 – REPLOID Group AG (“REPLOID”) has been awarded funding by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) under the KMU-innovativ initiative. The research and development project “Opti2Fly” has a total project volume of €1.1 million, with the federal government supporting the planned research activities with €850,000.

REPLOID offers an innovative system for the industrial processing of regional organic residues from the food industry – using larvae of the Black Soldier Fly. These residues are converted into valuable raw materials, including proteins, high-quality fats, and organic fertilizer.

Research and development is a cornerstone of REPLOID’s business model. At the Global Innovation Center in Leipzig (Germany) an interdisciplinary team continuously works to improve the Black Soldier Fly’s bioconversion process – from feed formulations and high-performance larval strains to marketable end products.

The research project “Opti2Fly” is a prime example of REPLOID’s sustained investment in its own research capabilities. The project centers on developing an innovative analytics platform that combines state-of-the-art measurement technology with artificial intelligence methods. The goal is to capture key quality and performance characteristics of living larvae. The findings will directly advance the REPLOID breeding program and further optimize the overall bioconversion process.

REPLOID leads the research consortium alongside renowned partners, including TU Dresden, which provides validated reference measurements and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, which is responsible for the biological characterization of the breeding material.

Jonas Finck, COO of REPLOID: “This funding commitment confirms that we are on the right track: our research is convincing, also on the highest level. We are proud that we were able to prevail against strong competition in today’s very challenging funding environment. It shows that we are not only asking the right questions, but also delivering compelling answers.”

The project results are expected to feed directly into REPLOID’s production operations in the medium term, further strengthening the company’s position as a leading technology provider in insect farming.

About REPLOID Group AG

REPLOID offers an innovative system for the industrial utilization of regional organic residues from the food industry.

The company builds and services modular and scalable insect-rearing plants for its customers – the REPLOID ReFarmUnits. In these plants, young Black Soldier Fly larvae supplied by the company receive a site-specific feed mix. This mix is developed on the basis of REPLOID’s own research and development using residual materials from the regional food value chain. After rearing, customers either use the larvae and/or their by-products themselves, or REPLOID takes them back for centralized marketing or further processing.

REPLOID sells the reared larvae either directly or, after further processing into proteins and fats, for example, to customers in the animal feed industry. From the by-products of insect rearing (insect frass), the company produces premium organic fertilizer.

With decentralized upcycling on an industrial scale, REPLOID provides an economically attractive solution within the circular economy. Food residues and unused food are utilized efficiently, helping to conserve key resources over the long term.

REPLOID Group AG was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Wels, Austria. The company has a global focus and has been listed since July 2025 on the Vienna Stock Exchange’s direct market plus segment (ticker symbol: HRX5). The Group employs more than 135 people.

Contact

Hans Lang | Director Group Communications | +43 660 693 45 63 | presse@reploid.eu