Ubiqutek Electrical Weed Control (UEWC): An advanced electrical weed control device to be integrated with existing agricultural equipment, yielding a zero chemical, organic result at a reduced cost

Project Information

UEWC

Grant agreement ID: 700567

DOI

10.3030/700567

Project closed

EC signature date 29 November 2015

Start date 1 December 2015

End date 29 February 2016

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

UBIQUTEK LTD
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - UEWC (Ubiqutek Electrical Weed Control (UEWC): An advanced electrical weed control device to be integrated with existing agricultural equipment, yielding a zero chemical, organic result at a reduced cost)

Reporting period: 2015-12-01 to 2016-02-29

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The Ubiqutek Electrical Weed Control (UEWC) Feasibility Study has produced a comprehensive business plan for the development of the UbiqutekGlide system which uses electricity to control weeds. This technology will provide farmers with a practical and economical alternative to current chemical, mechanical and hand weed control methods which can be harmful to the environment or ineffective, labour intensive and costly.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the completion of this Study, Ubiqutek has examined current market conditions and trends, and have reviewed the risks and opportunities of markets in different geographical areas. We have assigned priorities to protecting our Intellectual Property in those areas which provide the best fit for our business.

We have ratified our commercial strategy to integrate our electrical system with existing manufacturers of agricultural weeding machinery rather than reinvent the wheel, and have identified a number of manufacturers across Europe who are interested in partnering with us.

We have completed a voice of customer exercise and validated interest from our client base, and willingness to buy the technology by end users.

We have recognised that our customer base is dependent on purchases made by end users, and that the end users are most likely to make decisions to buy based on proven test results, which are independently verified. Later, word of mouth is expected to play a part as end users report experience of our technology. Our development plan allows for this testing and verification of results, and will realise the opportunity by quarter 4 of 2018.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Once commercialised, the UbiqutekGlide technology will enable end users to benefit from significant savings in running costs – which are anticipated to average between 14% and 69% , depending on the current method of weed control employed (UEWC will be competitively priced with most conventional forms of weed control, the biggest savings are envisaged to come from a conversion from hand weeding to our technology) – and operating cost improvements achieved through more effective weed control which eliminates any re-growth of treated weeds due to the nature of the UEWC process.

Our ability to deliver these benefits will effectively offset the premium cost of the UEWC system, and enable us to gain a significant foothold in our chosen target market sectors.

We have confirmed that the technology development is low risk as we will be using technologies commonly used every day in a new application.

We are well placed to take full advantage of increasing resistance to herbicides and new regulatory restrictions on the use of chemical herbicides, and offer a solution which is practical and economic, with a number of key advantages over the currently available mechanical methods of weed control. We are unique in that our solution systemically kills weeds and does not disturb the soil around the weed or crop, thereby minimising new growth and spread of weeds.

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