Project description DEENESFRITPL Protecting crops by mimicking natural wax crystals Wax crystals are small and can be found on the cuticles of some plants, particularly superhydrophobic plants like lotus and broccoli. Taking inspiration from these plants, the EU-funded SafeWax project will use bio-derived non-toxic fatty acid-based formulations to create a protective coating with anti-adhesive, self-cleaning and antifungal properties. This innovative technology aims to reduce the overuse and misuse of chemical fungicides, which have devastating implications for the environment and the global economy. SafeWax coating will initially be demonstrated on grapevine, which is susceptible to fungal diseases. Apart from protecting crops from fungal infections, the biodegradable coating will prevent sun damage and facilitate water collection from dew condensation, mitigating the effects of climate change. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective According to the FAO, plant diseases cost the global economy around 210€ billion per year, and fungal pathogens destroy at least a third of all food crops annually. Commercial agriculture relies on chemical fungicides for crop protection owing to their easy application and low cost; however, their overuse and misuse have devastating implications for all living systems and the entire ecosystem. Thus, establishing sustainable crop protection strategies is essential for global economic development, environmental protection, and food security.Inspired by superhydrophobic plants, such as lotus and broccoli which exhibit wax crystals on their cuticles, we propose a generic sustainable strategy for passive crop protection against fungal pathogens. Our biomimetic technology, termed SafeWax, relies on bio-derived non-toxic fatty acid-based sprayable formulations which self-assemble into a multifaceted protective coating with anti-adhesive, self-cleaning and antifungal properties. When applied on sensitive crops, which do not naturally exhibit wax crystals, SafeWax will synthetically render their foliage to passively resist pathogens. SafeWax concepts will initially be demonstrated on grapevine, as a relevant model crop of high importance to Europe’s economy, environment and culture, which is highly susceptible to fungal diseases and is the most-frequently treated crop. SafeWax will then be expanded to other sensitive commodity crops. The biodegradable SafeWax coating will not only protect crops from fungal infections but will also be tuned to provide UV radiation filtering, prevent sun damage, as well as facilitate water collection from dew condensation, mitigating inevitable effects of climate change.SafeWax will revolutionize the global fungicides market (valued > 20 billion €), starting from the biofungicide market with a value of 3,2 billion € by 2025. Fields of science medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesnatural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologymycologyengineering and technologymaterials engineeringcoating and filmsmedical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutritionagricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture Programme(s) HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme Topic(s) HORIZON-EIC-2022-PATHFINDEROPEN-01-01 - EIC Pathfinder Open 2022 Call for proposal HORIZON-EIC-2022-PATHFINDEROPEN-01 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme EIC - EIC Coordinator TECHNION - ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Net EU contribution € 1 460 672,50 Address Senate building technion city 32000 Haifa Israel See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Participants (4) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA Italy Net EU contribution € 642 500,00 Address Via zamboni 33 40126 Bologna See on map Region Nord-Est Emilia-Romagna Bologna Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 EUROFINS AGROSCIENCE SERVICES REGULATORY FRANCE France Net EU contribution € 197 500,00 Address Rue pierre adolphe bobierre site de la geraudiere 44300 Nantes See on map Region Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire Loire-Atlantique Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 INSTITUT FRANCAIS DE LA VIGNE ET DU VIN France Net EU contribution € 183 750,00 Address Domaine de l'espiguette 30240 Le grau du roi See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region Occitanie Languedoc-Roussillon Gard Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 BASF SE Germany Net EU contribution € 384 023,75 Address Carl bosch strasse 38 67063 Ludwigshafen am rhein See on map Region Rheinland-Pfalz Rheinhessen-Pfalz Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
