Top 10 Innovation Prize 2022
Jury selected the Top 10
For this edition we were looking for start-ups that are working on Products and services (TRL Level 6 plus) that contribute to horticulture with regard to:
- New horticultural products that lead to higher added value
- Reducing costs in the chain by cutting back on the use of essential raw materials such as water, energy, etc.
- Innovation of the value chain (e.g. short chains and other solutions)
- Improving quality retention in the value chain with a view to reducing food waste
- Closing the value chain by extracting valuable raw materials from residual flows
- Innovations that contribute to the earning power of the grower
The above apply with respect to plant breeding, cultivation, trade, packing & grading, sales and all links in the supply chain. Impact on the value chain, not only on cultivation, is a key element in this, which can be ‘technical’ or ‘organisational’ in nature.
- The product or service entered must therefore comprise an innovation that is more than only technical. It should contain components of a system innovation and/or social innovation.
- Additionally, the product or service entered should be developed by a team that is ‘cross-over’ at heart, in which different disciplines, people or backgrounds are working together to develop the envisioned solutions.
- Candidates must be start-ups or scale-ups whose develop spans a period of less than five years.
* TRL Level 6 plus: System prototype demonstration in operational environment; the technology is integrated into the final operational environment. The focus is currently on issues such as production and certification.
IMPROVING THE VALUE CHAIN IN HORTICULTURE was central in this edition. Based on the theme and the criteria the jury reduced the applicants towards a Top10.
Harrij Schmeitz (Chairman of the Jury): ‘Even with this number of applicants it was not easy for the jury to go back to a Top10. The level of applicants is again high and international. We see a wide range of issues tackled by different applicants. Now the time is for the teams to be trained for there live jury pitch at the HeroFestival to the jury. Also the public can vote for there favourite. ”.
Vertigo Technologies
We provide accurate sensors for fruit quality inspection, based on the use of microwaves, that allow to optimize logistic and reduce waste. By allowing massive data collection in short time, fresco sensors aid the decision making and quality tracking in all steps of the value chain, from farm to retail.
Organifarms
With our harvesting robot for strawberries we shorten the supply chain and reduce food loss and waste by detecting quality defects on the fruit and not damaging them while harvesting. Through our automated weighing and packaging the fruit can go directly into sales.
CSR-Focus
We inspire organizations to be sustainable by translating complex processes into user-friendly software to create insights for sustainability strategy. We are the first to offer a tool in which an organization identifies the most material sustainability topics and then prioritizes them based on an assessment of the organization and its stakeholders. In this way, we contribute to the optimalisation in horticulture value chains by enabling companies to determine their sustainability status and position more quickly and cheaper and, in this way, to start making an impact with greater focus.
Planthunters
All energy (time, resources ect.) that are used in the production of floriculture products have to be used as optimal as possible.
Planthunters makes sure that every product arrives in a store where the chance of sale is the highest.
This way we make the Planthunters-dream a reality: ''no more wasted energies within the floriculture chain!''
Infitiv
Infitiv is developing an IOT solution to monitor and predict the fruit quality, focusing on the long-term storage, to reduce food loss and extend the shelf life.
OPTIMIZ
We enable the remote inspection of the handling, quality and condition of horticultural products in the supply chain with the goal of reducing the impact of in-transit losses on the traders.
Odd.Bot
To accelerate the transition to sustainable agriculture Odd.Bot is providing the successor of chemical- & manual weeding to initially assist the organic farmers with their strenuous handweeding tasks with robotic mechanical weeding so that the conventional chemical farmers can follow.
Farmertronics Engineering BV
With the application of our robot tractor, the eTrac, no more fossil fuels are needed for growing fruit or trees, and there are no more emissions of CO2 or nitrogen oxides. By harvesting solar energy on the farm, it can be used for the eTrac, closing the loop. The eTrac is also relatively light, so that less soil compaction will take place.
AgriData Innovations
ADI is a growing startup specialised in developing robotic systems and image analysis software for monitoring crops in indoor agricultural settings. From the gathered data we distill metrics such as measuring growth, scouting for disease/pests and providing quality control insights. With these insights we are giving higher resolution information to farmers on their crops. This will facilitate more targeted solutions to increase the yield and quality of their product.
Our mission is that, with the use of our technology, we will help in satisfying the growing demand for food with a growing global human population. In striving for this goal, we also aim to minimize the use of crop care chemicals on the plants grown, reducing the runoff effects they have on their surrounding ecosystems.
Hudson River Biotechnology / Plentrance
Hudson River withdrawn from the competition due to company reasons
Our biodegradable Plentrance™ particles penetrate the plant cell wall and makes active ingredients available in the right place at the right time. This allows actors across the chain to decrease use of chemicals, optimize flowering time and save on fertilizers.
