Grace Breeding and Evolva Holdings partner to develop next-generation, sustainable crop yield and resilience solutions

Date:03-07-2023

Grace Breeding Ltd. (TASE: GRAC), a forward-thinking AgClimateTech company developing biological-based products to improve crop yield and vigor, and Evolva Holding AG (SIX: EVE), a pioneer in natural molecules and industrial biotech, announced the formation of a partnership to support the development of a bio-fertilizer alternative to replace chemical nitrogen crop fertilizers. Under the terms of the partnership, the companies will collaborate to create an agricultural solution that combines Grace Breeding’s proprietary, groundbreaking NFT bio-fertilizer with Evolva’s precision-fermentation platform to create a streamlined process for producing the proprietary Bio-fertilizer.

The global market for chemical nitrogen fertilizers is estimated to be over $118 billion today¹, but their use continues to come under great scrutiny with increased regulation due to their environmental impact on soil and ground water. As a result, sustainable alternatives that also are competitive for crop health are in demand by farmers and distributors. Grace Breeding’s NFT bio-fertilizer is more environmentally friendly and cost-effective and also more potent to improve crop yield and resilience.

Grace Breeding’s NFT works in combination with a natural, non-pathogenic bacteria enabling crops to naturally fix nitrogen and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. As a result, the process reduces CO2 emissions and leads to a significantly lower environmental impact on soil and the ground water, while reducing synthetic nitrogen use by up to 50%. Grace Breeding’s NFT can be applied across a wide range of field crops including corn, wheat, soy and rice, and can be applied less frequently – once, during sowing versus three to four times during the season, which is otherwise the norm.

Assaf Dotan, Chief Executive Officer of Grace Breeding Ltd., stated, ″We are excited about this collaboration with Evolva since this partnership provides tremendous support to our bio-fertilizer supply chain and brings us closer to getting our novel NFT solution to farmers. Having access to Evolva’s precision-fermentation technology will accelerate our ability to get our NFT product to farmers, who are desperate to address the economic impact on soil and climate resulting from use of conventional urea-based fertilizers.″

Grace Breeding’s NFT in combination with Evolva’s precision-fermentation technology has shown positive results in farm-scale corn and wheat field tests in Israel and is currently being tested in Brazil. The remaining field tests are expected to conclude during 2023.

Christian Wichert, Chief Executive Officer of Evolva Holding AG, added, ″The partnership with Grace Breeding opens a new and attractive market for Evolva. We see significant long-term potential in this partnership, which represents an additional upside to our growth strategy. It is a further testimony to Evolva’s capabilities along the entire value chain and the potential of our powerful technology from our unique precision-fermentation platform.″

About Evolva

Evolva is a Swiss biotech company focused on the research, development and commercialization of ingredients based on nature. We have leading businesses in Flavors and Fragrances, Health Ingredients and Health Protection. Evolva’s employees, half of which are women, are dedicated to make the best products that can contribute to health, wellbeing and sensory enjoyment. Find out more at evolva.com and connect with us on LinkedIn.

About Grace Breeding

Grace Breeding is an AgClimateTech company focused on developing products that are biologically based and provide efficient and natural solutions for farmers and distributors. Grace Breeding aims to disrupt crop and animal agriculture – including, soil microbiome, crop fertilization, and climate stress relief– by offering innovative products and solutions that reduce the environmental damage caused by synthetic fertilizers. Grace Breeding has an R&D center in Israel and in parallel the company is developing its products with several leading research and development centers around the world.

References

¹ World Fertilizer Market Nitrogen, No. 42 (418) 21 October 2021.
Nitrogenous Fertilizer Market Size | Global Industry Report, 2026.