Corporate challenges

The RegenAg Challenge

Shaping the Future of Sustainable Agriculture

Explore each corporate track to learn how your solution can address and adapt to real market needs.

Enhancing soil health and biodiversity with efficient sub-surface drip irrigation, no-till practices, and cover crops.

About Netafim:

Netafim is the world’s largest irrigation company and a global leader in precision agriculture solutions that address food, water and land scarcity for a sustainable future.

Focus & Objectives:
Subsurface drip irrigation systems hold significant potential for enhancing and optimizing irrigation practices, thereby creating ideal conditions for biological activity within the soil. However, their application faces numerous challenges, spanning agricultural interfaces, technical and engineering aspects, as well as monitoring, control, and optimization processes. A comprehensive solution can lead to a sustainable smart grazing system, increase biodiversity and soil health by using no-till and cover crop practices.

Key Challenges:

Efficiency and optimization of water and fertilizer use
Monitoring soil biological activity
Fault detection and maintenance (e.g., clogging, leaks, physical damage, animal damages)
System planning, positioning, and depth
Water source and quality

Compatibility with No/Minimum till practices
Enhancing carbon sequestration
Optimizing cover crops and biodiversity

Real-World Applications / Practical Examples:

Grazing cells: Creating grazing cells where cows move periodically from cell to cell. Abandoned cells are irrigated with SDI (subsurface drip irrigation) until the next grazing cycle, ensuring optimal growing and recovery conditions for the grazing pads.
Enhancing biodiversity in orchards by growing cover crops irrigated with SDI.
Ensuring adequate oxygen supply to the rhizosphere by utilizing the SDI infrastructure.

Technologies We're Looking For:

Precision agriculture technologies
Remote sensing and soil health monitoring tools
Smart irrigation systems with IoT sensors
Geospatial mapping and soil analysis tools
Advanced filtration and water treatment systems
Integrated irrigation management software
Flexible and modular drip systems
Integrating Biochar and organic amendments into the irrigation system to enhance soil carbon content
Automated soil carbon monitoring tools
Adaptive irrigation systems with multi-crop sensor technology
Movable subsurface drip irrigation systems
Automated grazing management tools
Oxygen infusion technologies
Rodent control technologies

Preferred Development Stage:

Preference for technological maturity TRL above 5 - open for ideation stage as well

Do you have a solution that could address Netafim’s challenges?

Applications are now closed

Combining fertilizer application with no-till methods, soil health, carbon sequestration, soil reclamation.

About ICL PLANET Startup Hub:
ICL Planet Startup Hub is the vehicle in which ICL chooses to work with innovative companies, synergize with their novelty, and short-cut their way to global play. We offer a unique flexible hybrid innovation model that uses various startup incubator and startup accelerator elements to synergize ICL’s resources, expertise, mentorship, and infrastructure with early-stage innovative AgTech startups and FoodTech startups with the goal to make an impact in the world we live in and in the AgriFood Tech ecosystem.

Focus & Objectives:

Combining fertilizer application with no-till methods, improving soil health, and enhancing carbon sequestration and soil reclamation. Rebuilding soil health by controlling its ecosystem (microbiome).

Key Challenges:

How to apply fertilizers with no-till
Protection of microbial products in the soil
Screening system, having HTP tools for rapid detection for biological products
Indication in the field for organic carbon
Development of stable biological biostimulants, their application, and regulation
Reports of low yields in the first years of converting conventional crop fields to regenerative ag methods.
Lack of reliable, fast, and cheap measurement methods for soil health indicators, greenhouse gas emissions, and nutrient leaching.
A need for updated nutrients and irrigation recommendations that consider the presence of cover crops in the growing cycle.

Real-World Applications / Practical Examples:

Creating new fertilizer types, improving soil health, creating sustainable products
POC demonstration of protected bacteria in the field that can generate an effective effect.
HTP tools that predict field trial results.
Fast, reliable, and easy tool for detection.
Developing new biodegradable products to improve the soil ecosystem and thus improve soil health, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and water retention.

Technologies We're Looking For:

Looking for both technological solution or aiming to adopt a new approach or practice

Preferred Development Stage:

Companies that already passed the POC stage.

Relevant Crops:

Mostly field crops (soybean, cotton, rice, wheat, maize), vegetables, fruit trees.

Do you have a solution that could address ICL PLANET Startup Hub’s challenges?

Optimizing Nitrogen Fixation and Enhancing Agrivoltaic Systems to Reduce Agricultural CO2 Emissions

About BayWa AG and TUM Venture Labs FAB:

In this challenge, BayWa AG and TUM Venture Labs are joining forces.

BayWa AG is an international group that serves as a regional basic supplier and innovative solution provider. The company is dedicated to developing sustainable solutions that address essential needs, including food, housing, heating, electricity, and mobility.
TUM Venture Labs is a joint initiative by TUM, the top-ranked technical university in the EU, and Unternehmer TUM, Europe’s largest entrepreneurship center. This network supports deep tech and life science ideas with entrepreneurial impact, guiding them from idea generation to seed capital for business launch. At the Weihenstephan Campus, TUM Venture Labs Food/Agro/Biotech focuses on sustainable transformation within the food value chain, providing expertise and support to entrepreneurial projects.

Focus & Objectives:

BayWa and TUM are looking to improve the precision and effectiveness of fertilizer application, aiming to optimize nutrient uptake while minimizing environmental impact. This challenge also explores how agrivoltaic systems can contribute to soil health, increased carbon sequestration, and reduced dependency on chemical fertilizers, by leveraging the unique microclimate created under solar panels.

Key Challenges:

Reducing nutrient runoff and leaching to minimize environmental impact.
Increasing the efficiency of nutrient uptake by crops.
Developing reliable and accurate tools for measuring the success of fertilizer application.
Enhancing nitrogen-fixing capabilities in non-leguminous crops.
Reducing the dependency on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and associated emissions (N2O, CO2).
Developing microbial inoculants or bioengineering solutions effective across diverse crops and soil conditions.
Enhancing soil health under agrivoltaic systems and maximizing carbon sequestration.
Optimizing the microclimate beneath solar panels.
Developing protocols for solar panel movement that balance energy generation with agricultural and soil health needs.
Integrating sensing technologies into agrivoltaic systems to monitor and enhance plant and soil microbiome health.

Real-World Applications / Practical Examples:

A sensor-based system that measures soil nutrient levels in real-time, allowing for site-specific fertilizer application.
An AI-driven platform that optimizes fertilizer application schedules based on historical and real-time data.
Wheat or maize varieties with enhanced nitrogen-fixing capabilities.
A microbial inoculant that improves nitrogen fixation in cereals.
A dynamic agrivoltaic system that responds to real-time data on plant and soil microbiome needs.
Protocols for solar panel movement that favor soil microbiome conditions.
Sensor-integrated agrivoltaic setups monitoring soil moisture, temperature, and microbial activity to ensure optimal conditions.

Technologies We're Looking For:

Precision agriculture technologies such as soil sensors, satellite imagery, and IoT-enabled devices.
Data analytics platforms for real-time guidance on fertilizer application.
Systems for transparent tracking and validation of fertilizer application outcomes.
Crops with enhanced nitrogen-fixation mechanisms.
Microbial inoculants promoting symbiotic relationships between plants and nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Bio stimulants increasing the efficiency of nitrogen uptake and assimilation.
Sensor networks integrated into agrivoltaic systems for soil condition monitoring.
IoT-based systems for optimizing solar panel movement based on data analytics.

Preferred Development Stage:

Technologies in the TRL 5-7 range, where prototypes have been developed and are ready for demonstration in relevant environments.

Relevant Crops:

For this specific challenge, we would like to see solutions for winter wheat, barley, oats, and corn.

Do you have a solution that could address BayWa & TUM Venture Lab FAB’s challenges?

Applications are now closed

Advancing Regenerative Agriculture Hardware and Engineering Solutions of components in motion, AI, and image optimization analysis.

About Festo:

Festo is a globally recognized player and an independent, family-owned company with a presence in approximately 60 countries. We provide automation technology and technical education solutions to more than 35 industries. As we witness automation and digitalization becoming increasingly important for the agriculture and food sector every day, we aim to contribute our century-long expertise in automation to this significant objective.

Focus & Objectives:

The challenge focuses on fostering collaborative development between FESTO and innovative startups to tackle pressing hardware and engineering needs in the realm of regenerative agriculture.

Key Challenges:

Soil health and carbon sequestration monitoring
Agricultural interface operations such as weeding, picking, thinning
Advanced shade and sun radiation interface management systems

Real-World Applications / Practical Examples:

Autonomous machinery for tasks such as planting, weeding, and harvesting, tailored to support regenerative practices.
An independent and mobile multi-sensor platform designed to continuously monitor soil health and biological activity across numerous sampling points within the field.
Automatic shade screen systems that operate based on real-time sensor data, adapting to the specific requirements of the plants.

Technologies We're Looking For:

Development of sensors and monitoring systems to accurately track soil health, carbon sequestration, moisture levels, and crop conditions based on an autonomous vehicle.
Advanced machinery and equipment that support regenerative practices such as no-till farming, cover cropping, compaction management, mechanical weed control, efficient planting, harvesting systems using AI and image optimization.
Integration of robotics with existing farming equipment to enhance efficiency and reduce labor costs.
Shade management systems that adjust shade coverage based on weather conditions and plant needs, optimizing light exposure and improving plant performance.

Do you have a solution that could address FESTO's challenges?

Applications are now closed

For updates and inquiries about the RegenAg Challenge, reach out to us at:

chenha@israelinnovation.org.il | maayan.sharon@eithubisrael.eu

The RegenAg Challenge

Shaping the Future of Sustainable Agriculture ​ Explore each corporate track to learn how your solution can address and adapt to real market needs.

Combining fertilizer application with no-till methods, soil health, carbon sequestration, soil reclamation.

Do you have a solution that could address ICL PLANET Startup Hub’s challenges?

For updates and inquiries about the RegenAg Challenge, reach out to us at:

chenha@israelinnovation.org.il | maayan.sharon@eithubisrael.eu

Shaping the Future of Sustainable Agriculture

Explore each corporate track to learn how your solution can address and adapt to real market needs.