Kia ora from Callaghan Innovation,

This newsletter is your regular update of new and interesting signals in the world of AgriFoodTech.

In this issue, we discuss a new low-carbon fertiliser made from cacao shells, explore how sound is being used to assist with pollination, and talk about portable energy supplies and how a new frog-like robot is paving the way.

We’ve designed this newsletter to kickstart exciting conversations around the future of agriculture in New Zealand and beyond.

Kia pai te rā,

Shane (Callaghan Innovation)

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Going the distance

Mobile robots have great potential in agritech and we’re seeing more of them, but they struggle to match the agility and efficiency of humans due to energy challenges and integration issues. Portable energy supplies are also a limitation, especially at small scales.

Scientists at Cornell University have created a small frog-like machine that can carry 22 times its weight and can utilise energy (methane) stored at much higher density than is possible with lithium Ion batteries.

Could we see more autonomous devices with heftier energy storage and longer operational times working in the harsh agriculture environment?

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KitKat Fertiliser

Nestlé has announced a pilot project to develop low-carbon fertiliser from cacao shells in their UK confectionery sites. This initiative aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture by creating more sustainable fertilisers. The project aligns with Nestlé's commitment to combat climate change and promote environmentally friendly practices in the food industry.

Is there a larger opportunity to recycle waste streams from food production at scale to offset emissions from conventional fertilisers?

Listen to the bees

UK company Agrisound has developed an in-field device for insect monitoring using advanced bioacoustic algorithms. With the majority of fruit crops dependent on insects to pollinate and 40 percent of bee species vulnerable to extinction. There is a lot at stake.

Agrisound’s Polly (a unique in-field sensor device for automated insect monitoring) detects the pollinator level in the area, enabling early intervention e.g. by deploying bee hives throughout crop.

Without pollinators – bees, butterflies, moths, and other bugs, we would lose more than 75 percent of all food crops. But pollinators do much more than protect our food security. Pollination is crucial to maintaining healthy ecosystems by encouraging natural biodiversity, the removal of carbon from the atmosphere (from increased plant growth) and ensuring our food is jam-packed full of nutrients.

What other left-field monitoring solutions are we likely to see as we struggle to maintain our natural environment?

Something in the air

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have introduced a significant development: the ability to continually generate electricity from the air.

This achievement, known as the "generic Air-gen effect," offers potential for a future where electricity is efficiently generated simply by tapping into air humidity.  Jun Yao, an assistant professor at UMass Amherst says it addresses a substantial drawback of renewable energy sources—intermittency. Unlike other technologies that are location and time-dependent, Air-gen is continuous, achieving true ubiquitous powering.

Powering IOT sensors and animal wearables is still an issue and may have hindered the predicted explosion of uptake. Could we see other new power harvesting technology help bridge this gap?

Holy Cow

Australian precision fermentation startup Eden Brew, co-owned by dairy cooperative Norco, has successfully raised $24.4 million in a Series A funding round. The company has developed an ‘animal-free casein micelle’, a key component of dairy proteins, allowing it to replicate the sensory and nutritional qualities of traditional dairy products.

Eden Brew aims to contribute to sustainable food production by creating dairy alternatives that require significantly less water compared to traditional dairy production. The company is also leveraging its partnership with Norco, a major dairy cooperative, to accelerate its production scale-up efforts. Eden Brew is among several companies globally working on animal-free casein proteins to create convincing dairy alternatives, with others including Pureture, New Culture, and Climax Foods. However, scaling these products and achieving regulatory clearance remain key challenges for the industry.

We need our next significant step towards a more sustainable dairy sector. Has Eden Brew timed its run right to be the first scaled precision fermentation product to win over consumers?

What I’m watching:

In 2019, The Rockefeller Foundation announced the Food System Vision Prize, an initiative to seek out and highlight visions for improving the global food systems and addressing our planet's biggest challenges.

There were 1300 submissions, ten were selected and short videos were made to shine a light on each one.

At less than ten minutes each, I recommend you find a way to watch them all, but if you’re looking for a place to start I particularly liked Foodnerve from Nigeria. It shines a light on problems we may all have soon, subjects such as access to energy, the reluctance of young people to enter farming, and the sustainability of farming practices. As a close second, I loved Arakunomics and the concentration on soil - “Food comes from agriculture, farming is just an economic exercise, agriculture is a culture and a way of life.”

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