SmartCoat: request for industrial partners

Introduction

Agriculture is under pressure to reduce synthetic inputs and meet environmental targets set by the EU Green Deal. These include halving pesticide use, cutting fertiliser use, and expanding organic farming to cover 25% of EU agricultural land by 2030. In response, microbial biostimulants and biopesticides are emerging in Europe as attractive natural alternatives to synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. Microbial biostimulants lead the category of active substances, with the highest CAGR at 11.3%, while microbial biopesticides represent the largest and fastest-growing segment of the biopesticide market, (€ 1.46 billion in 2025, CAGR of 15.9%). However, these bacterial strains often fail to deliver consistently in the field due to sensitivity to environmental stressors like drought, soil salinity or pH conditions or insufficient plant colonisation. In addition, industrial strains are often limited to ‘usual suspect genera’ (e.g. Bacillus and Pseudomonas), leaving an untapped potential in microbial genera. 

Seed coatings are rapidly emerging in microbial application. However, current coating technologies often fail to provide adequate protection for microbial agents. Therefore, there is a clear need for innovative seed coating formulations that protect microbial viability and guarantee functionality of the strains after storage. This ICON project directly responds to the need for sustainable agricultural innovation by developing advanced biodegradable seed coatings.

Goals

SmartCoat will develop biodegradable seed coatings to enhance the stability and effectiveness of microbial biostimulants and biopesticides. The project will use natural and synthetic hydrogel coatings applied via photo-crosslinking techniques, compatible with scalable industrial processes like spray, dip, and fluidized bed coating. It will explore biodegradable additives such as rosin ester dispersions, calcium stearate dispersions, and vegetable oil emulsions to meet specific needs, including seed flowability, drought or flood protection, and other agronomic performance goals. The specific seed coating requirements will be defined in collaboration with seed producer(s) that we hope will join the consortium through this Request for Partners.

Concrete objectives:

1. Develop at least 3 crop-specific, biodegradable, microplastic-free microbial seed coatings with improved stability and controlled release, fully compatible with commercial seed treatment systems. 

2. Screen over 200 microbial strains from UGent and industrial libraries to identify at least 10 high-potential candidates for formulation (e.g., strains with strong colonisation efficiency, drought tolerance, or biocontrol potential). 

3. Design formulations that extend microbial viability under variable abiotic conditions (e.g., drought, salinity) by at least 4 weeks, and that result in a minimum 15% increase in microbial colonisation and plant performance under both controlled and field conditions. 

4. Develop a semi-industrial-scale production protocol for selected microorganisms, enabling scalable application using industrial seed-coating equipment with a throughput of >10,000 seeds/h. 

Request

To complement the current consortium of GOVI, Avecom, and UGent, the project partners are seeking additional industrial collaborators with an interest in and/or expertise in further developing microbial seed coatings across the following domains (non-exhaustive list):

• Seed production and seed coatings

• Biodegradable polymers for seed coat applications

• Biostimulants and biopesticides

How to reply to this request

Please send an email before 1 December 2025 to Martijn Roosen (mroosencatalisti.be (mroosen[at]catalisti[dot]be)) with Dieter Ruijten (druijtencatalisti.be (druijten[at]catalisti[dot]be)) in cc, and briefly describe your interest and potential contribution to the project. Based on all offers, the current industrial partners will determine together with Catalisti which partners can join the consortium. After submission of your offer, you can be contacted to further elaborate your offer.

Important notice: Partners that wish to participate in spearhead cluster-supported projects are required to be member of one of the spearhead clusters. For more information on membership and membership fees, please visit our website or contact to Martijn Roosen (mroosencatalisti.be (mroosen[at]catalisti[dot]be)) with Dieter Ruijten (druijtencatalisti.be (druijten[at]catalisti[dot]be)) in cc.