The European agrichemical industrial complex is pushing hard to replace fossil-based coatings with biodegradable alternatives. Currently, it is mostly synthetic polymers that are used to coat seeds and slowly disperse encapsulated nutrients and pesticides into fields. On top of being non-renewable, the weathering of such materials results in the formation of polluting microplastics contaminating soil and groundwater alike.
A promising alternative are biopolymer-based formulations. Carapace aims to market a portfolio of circular and biodegradable carriers of fertilizers and seeds for the agricultural industry. For example, their biodegradable encapsulation technology Pomonin allows active components, like fertilizers and seeds, to be protected and released to the environment in a controlled manner.
Carapace has used the TTT-CT Pillar one voucher to explore the design space of proteins, from natural and waste origins. They developed a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) installation and conducted a techno-economic analysis of their proposal.
They will continue to develop and market their bio-based coatings and products based on biopolymers from natural and waste stream sources in the Biotech Booster program.