Scaling an Icure Graduate into an iNternational Agtech Leader (SIGNAL)

The SIGNAL project takes Zayndu's unique seed disinfection system and, with input from the UK and EU's major seed producers, scales it to full production capacities - with machines capable of processing up to 120 litres of seeds in a single batch.

The Zayndu process is unique in that it disinfects seeds using only ambient air and electricity; yet it effectively destroys pathogens and boosts germination rates. It does this through activating the air using a plasma at room temperature and pressure, without expensive vacuum pumps or noble gases. The "Activated Air" forms a powerful disinfectant which not only destroys pathogens, it also boosts the germination rates of many crops.

This is a timely development for the agricultural market, which is facing a double-whammy; the EU's Green Deal has introduced legislation which rightly restricts the use of many key agricultural chemicals due to environmental and health concerns. As a result farmers have lost the means to reduce contamination in the fields and seeds coming to the seed producers carry higher levels of contamination than ever before; yet those same chemicals are what the seed producers use to disinfect the seeds. Interest in "organic" seed disinfection processes has never been higher.

Zayndu's technology has application in many sectors in the seeds market; current systems are suitable for high-value, small-batch seeds. SIGNAL delivers the larger machines required for mainstream vegetable seed production and sets Zayndu on course to become a significant player in the global AgTech market.