Yield Lab Europe, the Irish-headquartered ag-tech accelerator, has announced a €21m fund targeted at early stage ag-tech companies.

Companies that are accepted into the accelerator programme receive €100,000, with the opportunity to secure up to €2m in equity investment.

Carbon neutral

Yield Lab invests in early stage companies with technologies aimed at improving the carbon footprint and the broader environmental footprint of the agri-food industry.

Yield Lab co-founder and managing partner, Nicky Deasy said: “Agriculture remains the single largest contributor to Ireland’s overall greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 34%. We are backing the best technologies to drive Ireland’s agricultural system towards carbon neutral status over the next 10 years.”

Yield Lab Europe currently has nine companies in its portfolio, four of which are Irish. They are:

  • Cork-based ApisProtect which uses technology to help commercial beekeepers monitor and improve the health of their honey bees.
  • Meath-based insect farm Hexafly which uses black soldier flies to upcycle brewing waste into high value proteins, oils and natural fertilisers.
  • Carlow-based Microgen Biotech which uses microbe technology to prevent the uptake of toxic-heavy metals into food.
  • Cork-based MicroSynbiotiX which is an animal health company developing a microalgae oral vaccine technology platform to reduce antibiotic usage and tackle disease in aquaculture.

    • The closing date for applications is 28 August. To apply, click here.

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