Key Takeaways:
- Microbiome Optimisation: Concert Bio is developing a platform that combines high-throughput sequencing with environmental and probiotic interventions to enhance CEA productivity, sustainability, and resilience.
- Addressing CEA Challenges: The platform is aimed at overcoming challenges such as poor efficacy of soil-based probiotics in soilless environments and the negative effects of sterility in CEA.
- Energy Efficiency Focus: The solution aims to help CEA growers, particularly in the UK and Europe, reduce energy costs, which contribute up to 40% of total farm expenses.
- Alignment with Global Goals: The project supports six UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aligns with the UK’s net-zero agriculture ambitions by 2040.
- Innovate UK Funding: Concert Bio has secured £1.015 million from Innovate UK to transform CEA through microbiome research and innovation.
Growing Interest in Microbiome Research
Recent advances in technology, such as decreasing sequencing costs and improved computing power, have fueled rapid progress in microbiome research, creating opportunities for innovation in human, animal, and plant health. In traditional agriculture, probiotics have long been applied in soil-based systems, providing benefits in terms of crop yield and quality, as well as offering protection against pathogen outbreaks.
However, in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), the efficacy of these soil-based probiotics has been limited. CEA growers often report poor survival rates of existing probiotic products in soilless environments, a key challenge that has yet to be effectively addressed.
Challenges Faced by CEA Growers
CEA systems, which include vertical farms and greenhouses, have been forced to prioritize sterility to mitigate the risk of plant or human pathogen outbreaks. This sterility, while necessary for safety, leads to lower levels of beneficial microbes, thereby reducing productivity, profitability, and resilience for CEA growers.
In addition to biological challenges, CEA growers in the UK and Europe face rising energy costs, which now account for up to 40% of CEA farm expenses. These economic pressures threaten the viability of CEA operations, especially in regions already struggling with high operational costs.
Concert Bio’s Microbiome Optimisation Platform
To address these challenges, Concert Bio, founded in 2021 by Dr. Paul Rutten, is developing a microbiome optimisation platform specifically for CEA growers. The platform leverages high-throughput sequencing-based monitoring alongside environmental and probiotic interventions to maximise resource-efficient, low-emission crop production. This not only boosts productivity and resilience but also reduces wasted operational costs for growers.
Dr. Rutten brings his expertise in plant-microbe interactions and entrepreneurship to lead the development of this solution, which promises to improve the overall efficiency of CEA systems by integrating cutting-edge microbiome science.
Alignment with Global Sustainability Goals
Concert Bio’s technology is designed to contribute to six UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:
- Zero Hunger (SDG 2)
- Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12)
- Climate Action (SDG 13)
Moreover, the platform aligns with the UK’s net-zero agriculture goals for 2040, demonstrating its potential to reduce carbon emissions while maintaining agricultural productivity.
Innovate UK Support and Future Impact
With £1.015 million in funding from Innovate UK, Concert Bio’s project aims to transform CEA by optimizing microbiome interventions. The project, scheduled to run until January 2026, comes at a critical time as the energy crisis adds pressure on CEA growers to increase productivity while cutting costs.
