For centuries Belgians have been among Europe’s most highly respected brewers and agriculturalists. Once a wealthy mediaeval city state, Ghent, Belgium has latterly emerged as an important European biotech hub. Now a fast growing Ghent startup is advancing the field of solid state fermentation with an innovative circular approach that converts farm biomass waste into beneficial agricultural microorganisms.
The process involves taking unused manure, digestate, and crop residues through a production platform that transforms organic waste into low-cost microbial biostimulants and biocontrol agents. A proprietary fermentation process using a patented pre-treatment, allows microorganisms to be efficiently cultivated on the residual biomass. Target customers are both farmers and agtech companies who can reduce and repurpose waste to provide cost-effective, sustainable solutions that boost crop performance while reducing waste. With farmers under pressure from EU regulations to reduce fertiliser use and cut down waste run-off, the timing could not be better. The ultimate aim of the company is to re-balance farm ecosystems by reducing the need for agri-chemicals, whilst supporting healthier and more resilient soils.
Zymofix was co-founded by Emile Redant (CEO), Luc Desender and Guy De Clercq. Desender is regarded as a pioneer in the industrial circular economy, as founder of Renasci. That company is now part of BluAlp, one of Europe’s largest industrial scale plastics recyclers. Zymofix recently attracted Wendy Maddelein to the role of chief scientist, after more than ten years working in molecular biology and microbiology at Syngenta. The science has also attracted attention from investors, with the company securing €2 million in funding in late 2024. High-Tech Gründerfonds, The Nest Family Office and VP Capital were involved. VP Capital is a family office based in Belgium and the Netherlands with an impact-first strategy that aims to contribute to biodiversity, the climate, and social equality through regenerative ventures.
Zymofix is an alumnus of the biotope by VIB incubator, an early stage biotech investor based in the south of Ghent, right in the heart of the Tech Lane science park, currently home to 90 knowledge-based ventures and almost 4,500 employees. Building on its successes, this week Zymofix scored an additional €1.9 million in co-funding from VLAIO, the Flemish government’s innovation agency, towards a joint research project with the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering at Ghent University. The project aims to generate new understandings around how substrate based production and formulation approaches influence microbial traits, product performance and stability. Through its innovative science and by building strong, collaborative partnerships with research funders, academia and industry, Zymofix is poised to become a leading player in Belgium’s growing regenerative biotech sector.
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Image credit: Giles Laurent, gileslaurent.com, License CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
