Inside Green Innovation: Progress Report - Third Edition highlights:
- Despite a slight drop in the output of new global patent applications compared to the previous year, filing numbers remain at historically record-high levels, and the overall new filing trend is still strongly upwards.
- Indeed, no drop was evident for innovators in Europe and Taiwan, with both territories showing continued strong growth. On the other hand, numbers from the US continue to fall. These trends are possibly reflective of the contrasting regulatory positions in these territories.
- There are signs that new entities are being discouraged from entering the market. The number of unique applicants (i.e., unique entities filing at least one patent application) has dropped back to 2019 levels. A lack of legal certainty may be deterring new entrants.
- European companies Innovafeed, Ynsect, Protix and Illucens are among the list of high filers. Their innovations relate to installations for handling and storing the insects, producing insect eggs, and collecting larvae. Other innovations are in producing proteinaceous powder from the insect larvae and worms and insect-derived feed for animals.
- South-Korean based organisations also make up a large proportion of the high filer list and they include The Rural Development Administration of South Korea (RDA) and Hanmi Natural Nutrition Co. Ltd. Hanmi’s filings relate to end products such as a sausage and energy bar containing insect larvae and edible insects.
Another alternative protein source attracting attention is insect protein. Insects – viewed as a potentially future-proof food source due to their high protein content and relatively low production impact on the environment – offer a nutrient-rich substitute to include in human and animal food products.
The use of insects as a food source has the potential to help tackle food insecurity and the climate crisis. Insect cultivation uses a fraction of the land, energy, and water required for traditional livestock farming and has a lower carbon footprint. On a weight-by-weight basis, raising crickets produces up to 80 percent less methane than raising cows and 8-12 times less ammonia than raising pigs, according to a study by researchers at the University of Wageningen.
Another advantage of insect farming is that they reach maturity in days (and can reproduce rapidly), rather than the months or years it takes for livestock. Insects are also 12 to 25 times more efficient at converting their food into protein compared to livestock and can eat waste food and biomass, enabling greater recycling. Insect production can reduce waste further as the whole insect is usable for food, whereas livestock farming produces a significant amount of inedible waste.
Currently, the biggest market for insect-based food in the West is in animal feeds incorporating material derived from crickets, black soldier flies, and mealworms. These feeds can be more effective than traditional versions in adding bulk to livestock and EU rule changes have allowed farmers to include insects in feeds for pigs, poultry, and fish farms.
However, one of the biggest challenges to increasing human consumption of insects is the reluctance of Western consumers to eat insect-based foods, while it is more widely accepted in Asia. Many consider this a missed opportunity as insect consumption offers many benefits to the consumer and the environment. One possible approach to making insects more palatable is to convert them into powders and include them in processed food.
Regulations regarding human consumption in this sector have been restrictive or unclear. However, regulatory approval for the human consumption of insects is moving gradually forward. For example, the European Commission approved two more varieties of insect protein for human consumption in February 2023. The approval covers the use of processed insects as an additive ingredient rather than the use of the whole or partially processed insect. For example, house crickets and lesser mealworm larvae can now be sold as “novel foods” within the EU. There are eight more insect protein varieties currently awaiting human consumption approval by the Commission. However, since Brexit, it appears that the UK is out of step with advances in insect feed approvals in the EU.
As the EU issues more approvals for such novel, insect-based foods, we expect to see an increase in European patent filings for innovations in this area and possibly also in other jurisdictions as they introduce equivalent regulatory approvals. Of course, in addition to regulation, consumer mindsets will also need to change to increase the appetite for insect protein.
Global patent activity
The impression that there is a growing momentum behind use of insect protein is supported by the patent data. In the last five years we have seen the number of new inventions relating to insect protein reach almost three times the pre-2015 historic peak. Now, in the 2021 data, we see a slight drop from the all-time high levels of 2020, though 2021 has still recorded the second-highest all-time number of new applications. It is possible that innovation suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the overall trend is still strongly upwards (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Forty-year trend - global priority filings – insect protein innovations
(Priority filing = the first time a patent application for a unique invention has been filed (the first filing))
Interestingly, the slight drop in 2021 is not consistent across all countries. Innovation originating from South Korea has, up to this point, dominated global patent filing numbers in this field. However, whilst South Korea was still the leading filing jurisdiction in 2021, it experienced a drop in new innovations compared to 2020. In contrast, the number of insect protein patent filings in Europe (the second highest originator of new patent applications) continued to grow, possibly due to more regulatory approvals for human consumption.
The number of insect protein patent filings in the US also dropped in 2021, possibly because of a lack of legal certainty for producers in this area, which may be holding back investment and innovation. Filing numbers in Taiwan have continued to increase, overtaking those in the US and Japan.
Europe appears on course to overtake South Korea as the leading originator of innovation in this sector. Europe is already well ahead in developing international patent portfolios for insect protein (Figure 3). South Korean filers are apparently focusing on their domestic market whilst filers in Europe, as well as the US and more recently China, are taking a more global perspective.
People in China have eaten insects for millennia. However, consumption is occasional or season-specific and the insects eaten are generally captured in the wild rather than farmed. The Chinese Ministry of Health recognised the silkworm chrysalis as a common food in 2004, but most edible insects are still not on an authoritative list. As attention is ostensibly turning in China to insect proteins, it will be interesting to see if this is followed by proper legislation and quality regulations regarding the consumption of insect protein.
Figure 2: Twenty-year trend - global priority filings by territory – insect protein innovations
Figure 3: Twenty-year trend - global priority filings by territory, leading to international families - insect protein innovations
It is also notable that the number of unique assignees (a patent assignee is the owner of a patent/application) in 2021 has dropped back to 2019 levels. The uncertain regulatory situation has possibly deterred new companies from entering this market. There has been an increase in the number of priority filings per assignee which suggests that certain companies are becoming more established in this field and consolidating their position in the market.
Figure 4: Ten-year trend - unique assignees and priority filings by year – insect protein innovations
(Patent assignee = the owner of a patent/application, also known as the ‘applicant’ (for a patent application), patentee (for a granted patent), or proprietor.)
Types of application
Mechanical engineering and chemistry remain the dominant technology types for new filings in this area.
Figure 5: Ten-year trend – patent families by technology - insect protein innovations
(Patent family = A set of patent applications and/or granted patents across multiple countries that protect the same invention and were filed by a common applicant.)
As typical for a young industry, there is a long innovation chain to address before insect-protein can truly hope to become an economically viable, mainstream food source. Patent applications for innovation exist all along this chain and are commonly focused on:
- Type of insect e.g., mealworm, buffalo worm, etc.
- Genetic modification
- Breeding and rearing systems, devices and methods including vertical farms and incubators
- Compositions to aid rearing, extraction and termination
- Methods of harvesting and processing insects
- Devices for separating the larvae and insects
- Collection devices
- Food products made from or fortified with insects or insect larvae
- Pet foods comprising insects/insect larvae
Notable companies
Innovafeed – a French biotechnology company – was the top patent filer in this field in 2021 (Figure 6). The company produces hermetia illucens flies for use in fish and animal feed and has the world’s largest insect production capacity. Its recent patent applications relate to installations for producing insect eggs and collecting larvae, and to apparatus and methods for treating insect larvae.
Ÿnsect continued to be a leading filer in this sector in 2021. The company filed patent applications for a textured, edible protein product derived from insect larvae or worms, a device for rearing termites and for a method for producing proteinaceous powder derived from insect larvae or worms.
South Korean-based organisations with high filing numbers in 2021 include The Rural Development Administration of South Korea (RDA) – run by a government ministry – and Hanmi Natural Nutrition Co. Ltd. Hanmi’s filings relate to end products such as a sausage containing tenebrio molitor larvae, and an energy bar containing edible insects.
Entomo Co. Ltd. and Protix continued to make numerous patent filings in 2021. Entomo’s filings relate to apparatus and methods for rearing insects including a food waste recycling system using black soldier fly larva. Protix, based in the Netherlands, has applied for an insect protein composition for use as a remedy to treat and prevent conditions including inflammation and osteoarthritis.
Illucens emerged onto the patent filing scene in 2021. Based in Germany, the company produces an insect-derived feed for farm animals, pets and fish, using the black soldier fly. Its applications relate to methods and devices for handling and storing the insects.
Figure 6: Ten-year trend: top five filers – insect protein innovations
Implications for innovation and future patent filings
2021 saw a small drop in patent filings in this sector, which appears mainly due to a reduction in innovations from South Korea. It is not clear why this has happened as South Korean companies such as Hanmi Natural Nutrition Co. Ltd. continued to be one of the leading filers. The drop could be a temporary result of the COVID-19 pandemic and it will be interesting to see if patent filings have recovered when we look at data from 2022.
By contrast, patent filings in Europe and Taiwan have continued to increase. The more certain regulatory position in Europe seems to be encouraging more innovation in insect-based proteins. However, patent filings in the US dropped again, and may continue to decline until the regulatory landscape is clearer. If there is a causal link between the clearer, permissible legislation put in place by the EU, and the resulting higher rates of innovation, this is a good example of how early changes to regulations can help spur innovation in an emerging industry, and give the local businesses a head start on the world stage.
We wait to see if further regulatory approvals encourage more companies to enter this technology area, to explore ever-more efficient methods of production, and try and push forward new insect-protein-containing food products palatable to consumers worldwide.
