Aquaponics Meets Insect Farming
Startup Incubator at NOI Techpark: Where Three Ideas Give Rise to a Cycle
Three startups, one shared solution: Kinsect, Reploid, and Solos demonstrate how networking leads to tangible innovation. The NOI Techpark in Bolzano fosters these connections.
How can fish be farmed without using fishmeal as a protein source? And how can waste materials from food production be put to good use at the same time? Three startups from the NOI Techpark in Bolzano have jointly found an answer: the black soldier fly. Their larvae transform food byproducts into high-quality insect protein, which is then used as sustainable feed in fish farming. Thanks to the nutrient-rich water from the fish farm, herbs and lettuce thrive in the aquaponics system.
This collaboration between the Italian startup Kinsect, the Austrian scale-up Reploid, and the South Tyrolean startup Solos emerged within the NOI Techpark network. “We work very closely with our startups; we understand their business models, technologies, and challenges. That’s why we can identify early on where a collaboration could truly add value,” explains Sonja Tetter from the Startup Incubator team. She initiated the collaboration and has supported it from the very beginning.
Three Areas of Expertise for a Closed-Loop System
Each of the three companies contributes a different building block. Kinsect develops technologies for the industrial rearing of the black soldier fly and supplies eggs and young larvae. Reploid relies on modular “ReFarmUnits,” in which larvae are fed regional food byproducts such as apple pomace, potato peels, or stale bread. This produces insect protein and fat for animal feed as well as organic fertilizer.
Solos closes the loop. The South Tyrolean startup operates an aquaponics system in Tramin, combining fish farming with the cultivation of lettuce and herbs. The water from the fish tanks provides nutrients for the plants, which in turn purify the water. One unresolved issue was fish feed: The Solos team was searching for a sustainable alternative to fish oils and fish meal—and found it in the form of protein-rich larvae from Reploid and Kinsect.
The result is a system that illustrates what a circular economy can concretely mean and achieve: Regional waste materials become a resource, yielding protein for fish farming—and byproducts can in turn be used as fertilizer.
An ecosystem that builds connections
It is precisely these kinds of collaborations that are central to the concept of the Start-up Incubator at NOI Techpark. As an “all-in-one” hub, it supports startup teams from the initial idea through to scaling up and connects them with research institutes, universities, companies, and stakeholders. It also offers access to the NOI Techpark’s laboratories and workshops, where technologies can be developed and tested.
“At the NOI Techpark, these synergies were able to develop organically. Thanks to working together within the same ecosystem, we were able to quickly build trust with one another,” says Giacomo Benassi, CEO of Kinsect.
This network is also attractive to international startups: Reploid chose the Acceleration & Scale-up Program to support its expansion into Italy. Its location between Austria and Milan and direct access to potential partner companies and customers were decisive factors in this decision. The startup incubator also serves as a bridge between the Italian and German-speaking innovation ecosystems.
As part of the fall batch, the startup incubator at NOI Techpark is once again accepting new teams. Applications are open until October 5, 2026.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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