BIOLUMIC SECURES MULI-MILLION-DOLLAR BOOST
New Zealand agtech start-up
BioLumic, world-leading developers
of sustainable ultraviolet (UV) crop
yield enhancement, has announced
its development has been bolstered
by significant financial backing
from MBIE (Ministry of Business,
Innovation and Employment).
The $2.502m grant is the second
multi-million dollar injection for
Palmerston North-based BioLumic
in a month – following on from
the close of its Series A round of
US$6.7m – and an indication of the
company’s growing reputation as
a front-runner in leading-edge crop
intensification.
The MBIE five-year grant supports
collaboration with T&G Global, Helius
Therapeutics, Microsoft, Massey
University, Plant & Food Research,
Miro Limited Partnership, and Bayer
Crop Science to develop a large
body of data to identify the best
light treatment for any crops in any
environment.
BioLumic has proven its proprietary
UV light system delivers long-term
crop benefits — including improved
consistency, increased yield and
disease resistance. BioLumic’s crop
responses can be achieved in days
for seedlings and minutes for seeds
– responses that are sustained
throughout the plant’s lifetime. The
patented technology can increase
crop yields by up to 40 per cent in
a variety of conditions, and requires
less land than traditional methods.
“The result of the funding will assist
New Zealand primary producers
to produce more food in the same
area of land, require less water and
nutrients, and be less affected by
climate change,” Dr Jason Wargent,
BioLumic co-founder and chief
science officer, says.
“It is estimated that more than 8.6
billion people will populate the planet
by 2030, and the world will need
to produce 50 per cent more food
by 2050. We must increase the
productivity and quality of our crops
to meet the needs of the planet,
while reducing our environmental
footprint.”
Dr Wargent estimates that the MBIEbacked
research will add $0.6bn
to $1.2bn per annum in exports,
and the international business will
put New Zealand at the forefront of
agriculture innovation.
“The conventional ways of producing
crops inevitably involve land use
and traditional agro-chemical inputs.
Everything we are doing here is
about producing more crops that are
higher yielding and more nutritious
using less land, intensifying our ability
to get more with less.”
Announcing the grant, Research,
Science and Innovation Minister
Megan Woods says: “Science
and innovation are major drivers of
economic growth and international
competitiveness. These partnerships
will see lasting benefits for New
Zealand’s economy.”
Less than a month ago, the world’s
largest grower and supplier of
medicinal cannabis, Canopy Rivers,
provided $2.2 million (US$1.5m) in
funding for BioLumic. The global
legal cannabis market is expected
to exceed $146bn US by the end of
2025 and BioLumic aims to enable
commercial producers to meet the
rising demand for regulated medical
cannabis products.
BioLumic extended the Finistere
Ventures-led Series A financing to
include Canopy Rivers’ financial
backing, closing the oversubscribed
round at US$6.7 million. The
financing was comprised of a tierone
investor roster that also included
Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund
and Radicle Growth acceleration
fund.
Warren Bebb, BioLumic chief
executive, says the MBIE funding will
develop new and cross-disciplinary
technologies for global agriculture.
“It is acting as a catalyst for us to
connect to New Zealand companies,
supporting the collaboration of new
and important ag-tech businesses in
this country.”
BioLumic currently employs 15 staff
– the majority in Palmerston North
– as well as California, Spain and
Mexico. Its vision is to significantly
grow its R&D footprint in New
Zealand and the US, as well as
commercial offices in key markets
around the world.
“We have big expectations that
BioLumic could be one of the most
successful ag-tech companies to
come out of New Zealand,” Bebb
says, “and be a major success
around the world.”
NEWS
NZ RISKS
FALLING
BEHIND ON
CLEAN ENERGY
The shift to clean energy is
happening faster than predicted,
and New Zealand should do
more than just keep up, says
energy leader Michael Liebreich.
The founder of Bloomberg
New Energy Finance and an
international leader in energy
systems modelling is taking
part in New Zealand briefings
organised by Z Energy on
emerging industry trends.
He told the BusinessNZ Young
Energy Professionals Network
that the uptake of wind and
solar technology was increasing
faster than predicted by most
in the energy sector, and New
Zealand’s leading industries
would need to switch to clean
energy as soon as possible.
“If you’re selling bulk
commodities like milk powder,
there will be other countries
processing it with clean energy
a lot cheaper. This change is
coming,” Mr Liebreich said.
He warned if New Zealand
industries failed to keep up with
the move to renewable energy,
they would lose competitiveness
to countries that are front-footing
the shift.
Young Energy Professional
Network Chair Harsharan Singh
said renewable energy pricing
was already lower than nonrenewables
for some industrial
uses.
The cost of implementing
renewable generation such as
wind farms was cheaper than
implementing non-renewable
generation such as coal or gasfired
power plant, Mr Singh says.
14 JULY 2019