17.2 million for innovative crop protection with plasma tech

VitalFluid, a developer of plasma technology for sustainable crop protection, announced today the completion of a Series A funding round totaling €17.2 million.

Water, air, and electricity

With this investment, VitalFluid is accelerating the rollout of its technology, which enables vegetable and fruit growers to combat fungal diseases using a product made on-site from water, air, and electricity: VitalFluid. The innovation provides antimicrobial protection and is eventually absorbed by the plant as a nutrient. This allows for a significant reduction in the use of chemical crop protection products, without leaving harmful residues on the crop.

Growing resistance

The agricultural sector faces a major challenge worldwide: growers have access to increasingly less effective crop protection products due to stricter regulations and growing resistance, while pressure to produce food more sustainably is mounting.

VitalFluid is a scalable alternative. Trials and pilot projects in recent years have demonstrated that VitalFluid is highly effective against fungi and plant diseases. In addition, the product can be easily integrated into growers’ current work processes because it can be applied using existing spraying equipment. VitalFluid’s systems are also capable of large-scale production at a cost competitive with existing products.

British strawberry growers

In recent years, VitalFluid has converted commercial pilot projects into multiple long-term contracts with British growers. The use of chemical crop protection products for mold control has now been almost completely replaced by VitalFluid on more than 100 hectares of strawberry farms.

This commercial application marks an important milestone for VitalFluid: the technology not only works in trials but is now actually being used by professional growers. The results show that the solution meets the economic and operational needs of modern growers, thereby laying the foundation for further international growth.

The funding round will enable VitalFluid to further scale up its operations in the United Kingdom and expand into the U.S. market.

The round was co-led by Invest-NL, with participation from Alder Tree Investments and existing shareholders Horticoop, BOM, Future Food Fund, Graduate Ventures, Innovation Industries, VDL, and Goeie Grutten. Part of the round is a €2.7 million Innovation Loan provided by RVO.