The Bayer Trendlines Ag Innovation Fund (“the Fund”), set up by Bayer CropScience LP (“Bayer”) and The Trendlines Group Ltd. (“Trendlines”) (SGX: 42T; OTCQX: TRNLY), announced the establishment of TierraSpec Ltd. (“TierraSpec”), a new company focused on real-time remote measurement and validation of carbon sequestration in agricultural soil to allow the issue of carbon credits and soil health monitoring. TierraSpec’s technology is based on over 30 years of scientific research performed in the lab of Prof. Eyal Ben-Dor at Tel Aviv University and is commercialized in collaboration with Ramot, Tel Aviv University’s Technology Transfer arm and with the Israel Innovation Authority. TierraSpec is headed by CEO, Avital Levy-Lior, PhD.
Soil is the second largest carbon sink in the world and yet only 1-2% of projects are eligible for issuing carbon credits from carbon sequestration in agricultural lands. This is due to the lack of reliable economical technology for the measurement and quantification of carbon in agricultural soils.
TierraSpec is developing a platform for measuring and validating carbon sequestration in agricultural soils using remote sensing, employing unique testing methods and advanced machine learning modeling. The platform will be a cost-effective tool for the validation of carbon sequestration that will allow reporting to carbon registries for issuance and sale of carbon credits.
Trendlines Agrifood Fund CEO, Nitza Kardish, PhD commented, “We believe TierraSpec will revolutionize the measurement and validation of carbon sequestration in agricultural soils. Enabling farmers to accurately report on the carbon content in their fields will give them access to the carbon credit markets and encourage a widespread move to more sustainable agricultural practices.”
“Scalable soil measurement, reporting, and verification will be crucial in the development of a model-based soil organic carbon estimation,” said Johan Botterman, PhD, from the Open Innovation and Strategic Partnerships team for Bayer CropScience. “We are excited to support TierraSpec in the development and application of new soil assessment tools, and addressing the increasing interests in soil health, as part of our commitments to innovation and sustainability.”
The Bayer Trendlines Ag Innovation Fund was established in 2016 as a collaborative partnership between The Trendlines Group and Bayer to invest in agricultural technologies. The partnership includes a US$10 million investment from Bayer. Bayer’s decades of experience in agricultural science, innovation, and regulatory affairs, alongside Trendlines’ specialization in investing in innovative, early-stage medical and agricultural technologies, form the base of this strong alliance.
About The Trendlines Group
Trendlines invests in and incubates innovation-based medtech and agrifood technologies to fulfill its mission to improve the human condition. As intensely hands-on investors, Trendlines is involved in all aspects of its portfolio companies from technology development to business building. Trendlines’ shares are traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX: 42T) and in the United States as an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) on the OTCQX (OTCQX: TRNLY).
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About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2020, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of 39.6 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.6 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
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