MYRES provides the soil remediation industry with a biotechnology that has been largely tested in laboratory. Our company INOQ is ready to apply its expertise on mycorrhizal fungi to provide an innovative bioremediation technology to treat contaminated and degraded soils in Europe (and worldwide in subsequent phases). Mycorrhiza is the symbiotic association between fungi and roots of vascular plants. It increases the plant’s ability to resist diseases and is able to detoxify pollutants. We will identify and select the most accurate mycorrhizal fungi species to restore soil properties, as well as treat organic and inorganic contaminants. MYRES offers a complement and/or alternative to current remediation Ex situ and In situ techniques. Its characteristics includes: 100% natural, non-GMO, compatible with other techniques (accelerates phytoremediation), applicable for both residential and agricultural purposes, cost-effective method. To date there are no commercial applications of mycorrhizal fungi on soil remediation in Europe. Therefore, we identify our competitive advantage given our technical and commercial experience with similar applications. Our know-how and infrastructure include a culture collection and stock of more than 50 strains, hosting plant species, laboratories, nursing areas and green houses. Our technology is ranged between TRL 6 and TRL 7. Our aim is to be leader provider of Mycorrhiza based bioremediation technology. Our target leads are segmented in 3 groups: Soil remediation firms; Contractor firms managing remediation or land reclamation projects; and Firms with remediation activities as part of their operations (i.e. construction and Mining). European Union’s estimations include 490,000 contaminated sites with an average remediation cost of €180.000/site. Our estimated annual turnover will increase from €770.000 within the first three years to 2,3 Million within the next 8 years after phase 2 with continuous growth rate of at least 25%.

In line with our growth strategy, INOQ is looking for an innovation associate to lead our business expansion project into the soil remediation market in Europe. With more than 20 years of experience, our company INOQ is a leading developer of mycorrhiza products used as microbial biostimulants for reforestation, food production, horticulture and others. With ENVISAGE we will provide mycorrhizal fungi to soil remediation companies as a complement and/or alternative to current remediation techniques for contaminated or affected grounds During the last decades, governments and private institutions have stressed their interest towards substitution of ecologically unfriendly and expensive remediation techniques with new forms of bioremediation. Given its relevance to our life, the governments and private actors from the EU member states have incurred in large amounts of soil remediation related expenses during the last years (more than €31 Billion from 2000 to 2010). To date there are many laboratory applications of mycorrhizal fungi on soil remediation, but no commercial applications in Europe. Therefore we identify our competitive advantage given our technical and commercial experience with similar applications. Based on our preliminary market analysis and based on advisory from industry experts, this market would represent for INOQ a business with an annual revenue value of at least €5 Million during the first 3 to 5 years. The envisaged profile has been considered to combine complementary skills and expertise. The innovation associate will use her/his research and qualitative/quantitative data analysis skills, as well as her/his bioscience and technical background to connect the market and industry related knowledge to our biotechnology. The incumbent will have a strategic role in INOQ, occupying the position of Business Innovation Manager. She/He will contribute to drive our company to become a reliable biotechnological partner in European soil remediation market.

Plants are intimately associated with a diversity of beneficial microorganisms in their root zone, some of which can enhance the plant’s resistance to insect pests. Thus, the use of Microbe-induced Resistance (MiR) to reduce pest losses in agriculture has emerged as a highly promising possibility to improve crop resilience and reduce use of harmful pesticides. European companies have therefore started to develop and market beneficial microbes. However, MiR appears to be strongly context-dependent, with reduced benefits under certain biotic and abiotic conditions and in some crop varieties. Further, it is a challenge to deliver and ensure stable associations of beneficial microbes and plants, and avoid undesired effects on beneficial insects. Thus we absolutely must improve our understanding of MiR mechanisms and context-dependency, in order to improve context stability of MiR and promote the use of MiR for crop protection. Our MiRA project will train 15 ESRs in basic and applied research on context-dependency of MiR, mechanisms, and impacts on plant performance and other biocontrol organisms. We will use this understanding to improve our ability to predict the effectiveness of MiR under different conditions, to select plant and microbial strains with improved context-stability, and to develop better methods for the formulation of microbial inoculants and their application in agriculture. Finally, we will analyse economic prospects and constraints for MiR development and use. To achieve these goals, we have assembled a consortium of 11 academic institutions and 6 companies, including microbial inoculant producers and agricultural advisors, with complementary skills in basic and applied research and innovation. Our ESRs will be trained within this multi-sectoral interdisciplinary network for a future career in research, product and service development in European horticulture and agriculture, pushing boundaries in European research and innovation.

The Directive 2009/128/EC sets rules in EU for the sustainable use of pesticides to reduce the risks and impacts of pesticide use on people's health and the environment. Among the listed actions there is the promotion of low pesticide-input management including non-chemical methods. In parallel several chemical active ingredients have been banned because of toxicity concerns. The result is that growers are left with few control tools against pests. On the other hand most of the available alternative control methods have several limitations, especially in term of efficacy. Several new ideas are not reaching the industry and are confined in the academic world. The concept behind this EIT is to explore new approaches to identify new cutting edge solutions for pest control based on new non classical approaches in strict collaboration with industrial partner and to train 11 highly skilled early stage researchers (ESR) through a doctoral programme that integrates 5 academic research with concept-driven product development in 6 EU companies with a strong curriculum in development and innovation within a large interdisciplinary environment. Microorganisms are often used so far as replacement of chemical active ingredients. The innovative aspect of this EID is to base the new pest control solutions on interactions of microorganisms with plants and insects rather than using them as plant protection products. Microorganisms’ unsurpassed inclination towards the association with eukaryotic macro-organisms determines traits and qualities in the host that harbours them. Microbial symbionts’ ability to profoundly transform their living habitat paves the way for unexplored outlooks in the ability to use microbial symbioses as sustainable and renewable tools to improve production and quality in agriculture. Microorganisms are key players in shaping several insect’s semiochemicals, in particular kairomones indicating a food source or oviposition site for some insect species.