Limburg's AgXeed receives funding for agricultural robot

The Limburg-based company AgXeed is among three Dutch upscaling companies receiving a combined total of over 18 million euros in support through the very last round of Horizon 2020's EIC Accelerator program. Agxeed from Oirlo is developing the autonomous agricultural robot Agbot, ten of which will be put to work with selected European arable farmers this year.

The Agbot is a smart-farming platform. It involves a combination of light autonomous machines that can be combined with the farmer's current machines and virtual planning tools that enable complex cultivation work. With this system, fewer heavy machines need to enter the fields. As a result, the soil structure is better preserved, which improves the yield and the quality of the harvest. The Agbot also saves on labor and energy. Thus, AgXeed contributes structurally to improving productivity while minimizing environmental impact.

EIC Accelerator

Of the total 4163 companies that submitted proposals, 38 European companies ultimately received funding. The EIC Accelerator is part of the European Innovation Council. It helps innovators, entrepreneurs, scale-ups and scientists grow through funding and support. The instrument allows companies to receive up to 2.5 million in grants and up to 15 million in funding. The Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland supported the Dutch companies with advice on how to submit, feedback on the proposals, and honing and practicing interviews. In addition to AgXeed, Deep Branch, a British-Dutch biotech company building a pilot plant in Geleen, also received funding from the EIC Accelerator.