Agrobiogel is a novel soil improver that stores and slowly releases water and fertilizer. It addresses many of the pain points and challenges of modern farming, forestry, plant nurseries and green houses all over the world:
(1) save up to 40 % irrigation water
(2) protect plants/crops from increasing droughts and erratic rainfall patterns
(3) reduce agricultural input costs
(4) convert agricultural non productive soils, including 100 % sand soil, into agriculture productive soils
(5) Matching the urgent desire to replace expensive non biodegradable fossil based hydrogels with much cheaper organic hydrogels
(6) Agrobiogel as a product of widely under-utilised lignin produced by the Pulp and Paper industry as well as the emerging biorefinery helps create value for this raw material thereby helping them not only expand their product portfolio but also reduce their carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.
Project ID
Funding period
1 July 2022 - 30 June 2024Total budget
EU contribution
Funding programme
Call for proposals
Type of action
Type of stakeholder
Project contribution to Mission Soil’s:
Specific objectives
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1. Reduce land degradation relating to desertification
Targeted -
2. Conserve and increase soil organic carbon stocks
Not targeted -
3. No net soil sealing and increase the reuse of urban soils
Not targeted -
4. Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
Partially targeted -
5. Prevent erosion
Not targeted -
6. Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops
Not targeted -
7. Reduce the EU global footprint on soils
Not targeted -
8. Increase soil literacy in society across Member States
Not targeted
Operational objectives
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1. Build capacities and the knowledge base for soil stewardship
Not targeted
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2. Co-create and upscale place-based innovations to improve soil health in all places
Partially targeted
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3. Develop an integrated EU soil monitoring system and track progress towards soil health
Not targeted
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4. Engage with the soil user community and society at large
Partially targeted
Innovation hotspots
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1. Carbon farming
Not targeted
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2. Soil pollution and restoration
Targeted
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3. Soil biodiversity including the microbiome
Not targeted
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4. Circular economy solutions
Targeted
Cross-cutting dimensions
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1. Business
Targeted
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2. Digital
Not targeted
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3. Territorial
Not targeted
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4. International
Not targeted
© European Union, 2024. Image sources: Adobe.Stock.com