Agricultural Advancements

Our journey into agricultural innovation involves fruitful collaborations with key partners.

Jungle.bio: Innovating Indoor Agriculture

Jungle.bio is a pioneering company specializing in indoor agriculture, with a particular focus on growing herbs and microgreens using advanced cultivation methods such as aeroponics.

Expertise in Aeroponic Cultivation

Jungle.bio is known for its expertise in aeroponic cultivation techniques. Aeroponics is a soil-less method of growing plants where roots are suspended in a nutrient-rich mist or air environment. This innovative approach has the potential to conserve water, reduce the need for soil, and optimize plant growth.

Using our project for aeroponics was not our first idea, as our first idea could be summarized by "let's put alginate in the soil to improve water retention".

Current Cultivation Method

Currently, Jungle.bio uses a method that involves constant maintenance of cellulose, including regular water addition and membrane replacement. This method poses challenges related to resource consumption, labor, and sustainability.

Collaborative Interest and Mutual Understanding

We were thrilled to engage in discussions with Jungle.bio, and we're elated that they share our enthusiasm for our project. Engaging with them led us to work on alginate plates to be used in aeroponics.

These plates, that we can see below, have been built using this protocol

Testing and Analysis

A first in-lab testing has been done and it seems that plates are not durable yet. In the future, we might try to improve the durability of the plates so that they can be used in aeroponics.

Innovative Seeding Strategies

Discussions with an arboriculturist have led to new seeding strategies for our beads. We plan to utilize a seeder adapted to seed size, inspired by pear seeds.

The size of seeds that can be effectively used in a mechanical seeder machine depends on the specific design and capabilities of the seeder. Mechanical seeders are designed to handle a range of seed sizes, but the optimal size can vary.

In general, most mechanical seeders are designed to handle small to medium-sized seeds, typically in the range of small grains such as wheat, barley, oats, or similar crops. These machines can handle seeds with diameters ranging from a fraction of a millimeter to a few millimeters.

The suitability of a seed for a mechanical seeder depends on factors like the seeder's seed metering mechanisms, the size of seed plates or rollers used in the seeder, and the spacing requirements for the specific crop being planted. Different seeders may have different size limitations, so it's essential to refer to the manufacturer's specifications for the specific seeder you're using.

For larger seeds, such as corn or beans, different mechanical seeders with larger seed plates or mechanisms may be required. But they are not mainly used.

This innovation aims to make seeding less physically demanding, particularly in hot weather. The arboriculturist will use our product in their fields, providing valuable on-field data, especially concerning basic and calcareous soils.

We also plan to use our product in their fields, providing valuable on-field data, especially concerning basic and calcareous soils.

Collaborations in the Viticulture Sector

We've initiated a productive dialogue with the viticulture estate "Cheval Blanc," which is considering testing our beads starting 2024.

Standardizing Beads for Seeding Systems

Because of the insights gained in our discussions described above, we decided to engage into a way to standardize our alginate beads, in order to develop a seeding system that optimizes the distribution of our calcium alginate beads

To achieve this, we have collaborated with "L'Atelier du Prado."

« L’atelier du Prado » workshop is a micro company created by Julien LUCAS. He is an architecture student in Marseille and, in parallel with his studies, developed a publishing and production company for design objects in 3D printing and laser engraving. exploring a collaboration with experts in 3D object design. These objects could potentially include molds or mechanisms that ensure precise and consistent bead placement during seeding.

This collaboration is actually part of our contribution:

By standardizing these 3D objects, we aim to create a seamless and efficient process for integrating our product into existing agricultural practices. This not only enhances the usability of our solution but also increases its accessibility to a broader range of farmers and agricultural professionals.

This collaborative effort demonstrates our commitment to refining the practical aspects of our project, making it more user-friendly and adaptable to various agricultural settings.

Impact in the BTP Sector (Bouygues BTP)

Our project has made an unexpected impact in the Building and Public Works (BTP) sector, notably through our collaboration with Bouygues BTP.

Initially, we reached out to Bouygues BTP with concerns about road cracking that we believed to be linked to drought conditions. However, our interactions with Bouygues BTP enlightened us with deeper insights and redirected our focus.

We initially contacted Bouygues BTP with the idea of seeking their expertise in addressing road cracking, a problem we believed to be related to drought-induced soil issues. We sought their guidance to help us mitigate the impacts of drought on infrastructure, specifically road surfaces. Our intention was to explore solutions that could alleviate this issue, ensuring safer and more sustainable transportation networks.

Dust Control Innovation

Through productive discussions with a Bouygues BTP expert, we gained a profound understanding of the challenges faced in the construction industry. They provided valuable insights, including the fact that the road cracking issue was not related to drought.

Our project expanded towards developing a solution for dust control in the construction industry, an area of concern not only for the environment but also for workers and public health and safety. Currently, the BTP sector relies on intensive soil humidification to manage dust, consuming substantial amounts of water and labor.

Our innovative approach involves the use of small calcium alginate beads placed on the soil's surface. As vehicles and workers move across the construction site, these beads sink slightly into the soil, creating a barrier with their calcium alginate walls. While their surface lifespan is approximately 2-3 days, our solution represents a significant improvement over continuous watering every two hours.

Bouygues BTP's Interest

Bouygues BTP expressed a keen interest in testing our dust control approach, potentially replacing frequent watering with periodic bead distribution. They have generously provided soil samples mixed with lime, a compound commonly used in their operations, for our experiments.

Positive Outlook

This collaboration with Bouygues BTP opened our eyes to the multifaceted challenges faced by the construction industry. It also inspired us to propose innovative solutions that can make a meaningful difference. Our project has the potential to not only address environmental concerns but also improve working conditions and resource efficiency in an unexpected domain.

Our discussion with Bouygues BTP has been instrumental in redefining our project's direction, focusing on dust control within the construction sector. This collaboration showcases the adaptability and responsiveness of our project to address diverse challenges, highlighting the interconnectedness of drought-related issues across various industries.

Other Initiatives

In addition to these major collaborations, other initiatives have enriched our approach to human practices:

Participation in the Science Festival:

Our participation in the Science Festival will provide a valuable opportunity to raise public awareness of our project. This will allow us to present our initiative, explain our methods in an accessible manner, and gather feedback from the public.

We will also welcome kindergarten, middle school, and high school students to educate them about the impacts of climate change, our solution, and various awareness activities.

The information gathered will be shared on our wiki after the freeze.

Collaboration with the "MAIF Community of the Committed

We submitted a project summary followed by questions to the "MAIF Community of the Committed." This fruitful collaboration has already provided us with an abundance of information and diverse assistance

Environmental Article in a Journal

An article on environmental issues was prepared for publication in a journal, with publication scheduled to August 31. This initiative aims to disseminate our message to a wider audience.

A conclusion: the big picture

During our discussions with (we hope) future users of alginate beads, we took the time to think about the big picture of our project.

We have successfully overproduced alginate in P. putida compared to normal conditions and we're technically proud of it, but what does it really mean ? What if producing alginate from bacteria vs algae is not cheap enough to be used at scale for cultivation ?

We can envision the following scenarios for our project:

• In the best scenario we can imagine, alginate becomes such a cheap commodity it's used at scale in fields of inexpensive food - rice, wheat. This scenario is unlikely. We need a carbon source for our bacteria, and this feedstock may be more expensive than the food we try to produce - wheat sells to ~230$/ton and crude glycerol, the cheap feedstock we aim to use, is basically the same price. Hopefully we won't need a ton of glycerol to produce a ton of wheat, but the margin here seems low.
• Maybe we may use our alginate for food higher in the chain value. A ton of apples can reach up to 1330$/ton. Horticultural use is also a great way to use alginate because it's usually more expensive than wheat. And of course, vineyard seems to be the natural usage because it needs a lot of sun.
• Using it efficiently seems to be very important to make it cheap - here our collaboration with Jungle.bio means a lot, because aquaponics may be a good consumer of what we do. Bouygues collaboration was much more unexpected, none of us imagined at the start of the project that alginate could be useful for construction industry.

But even if our agricultural and soil-related aims fails, what if instead of producing alginate for 3000$/ton we produce it for 2000 ? It's still a big success. Remember: alginate is already used in health and food processing industries. If our project "only" leads to cheaper alginate, produced with more environmental-friendly methods, then we'll have made a positive contribution in the world.