Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Development of a mobile device for the quick on-site measurement of soil nutrients

Objective

Today the application of fertilisers to agricultural crops is mainly based on calculations, estimations and recommendations and not on analyses of the actual demand of soil and plants. The resulting over-fertilisation has substantial disadvantages: pollutions of the groundwater, the eutrophication of surface water bodies, emissions of greenhouse gas from the soil, the depletion of finite natural resources, reduced yields and unnecessary expenses for fertilisers. It is estimated that up to 35 % of the applied fertiliser could be saved if a method for the quick and simple determination of the fertiliser demand existed.
Pessl GmbH, an Austrian SME specialised in the development of innovative products in the field of precision farming, has developed a lab-on-a-chip sensor for the quick on-site determination of the concentrations of the most important plant nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, phosphate and potassium) in the soil. This sensor will enable farmers to determine the fertiliser requirements of their fields within just a few minutes and without the need for any special knowledge. Based on the results of the EU project OPTIFERT Pessl has developed a first prototype of the sensor which has demonstrated the proper functioning and the great potentials of the technology. However, improvements and adaptations are required to achieve the market breakthrough. In this proposed project a feasibility study will reveal the technical feasibility of the envisaged improvements and the optimal way of implementation, while a business plan will show the optimal way of commercialisation.
Pessl’s new nutrient sensor will help European farmers to save up to 35 % of their applied fertiliser, leading to total annual savings of up to 6 billion € or 500 € per average farmer. At the same time Pessl GmbH will be able to significantly grow in terms of turnover, profit and employees and to further expand its leading position on the European market for precision farming products.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-SMEInst-2014-2015

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

PESSL INSTRUMENTS GMBH
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 50 000,00
Address
WERKSWEG 107
8160 Weiz
Austria

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
Südösterreich Steiermark Oststeiermark
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 71 429,00
My booklet 0 0