86804Drought-proofing tree seeds: coating technology to increase productivity at forest nurseriesClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKGlobally, governments and private organisations set ambitious commitments for tree planting and forest regeneration programmes, at an estimated cost of £1.5 billion per year. Demand for tree saplings is increasing in the UK and abroad. However, COVID-19 disruptions caused losses for the forest nursery sector and will likely lead to plant supply shortages in the coming years. The sector is also vulnerable to increasingly erratic weather. For example, the 2018 heatwave impacted the nursery trade across Northern hemisphere. At UK nurseries, up to 90% of viable seeds were lost due to poor germination. Finally, without a strong, vibrant domestic timber supply, the UK will become reliant on international imports which naturally have a higher carbon footprint. Depending on where and how the timber was harvested, imports may also decrease global biodiversity. At SilviBio, we want to address this quandary through our seed enhancement technologies that increase conifer seed germination rates. By improving germination rates, our technology will enable more efficient seed use that directly results in more trees for forest nurseries and helps the Government's reach its tree planting targets. Specifically, we want to modify our technology to improve scalability of application and enhance access to our product.