October 30, 2019

By Lynda Kiernan

Investors IP Group, Grain Innovate, and Artesian have committed nearly A$1 million in Seed funding to Australian agtech company Growave – a startup developing chemical-free weed control based on microwave energy technology. 

Founded by Graham Brodie, Growave was spun out of research at the University of Melbourne, and has been supported by the university’s Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC).

“Dr. Graham Brodie had a really novel engineering solution to harness the power of microwaves but distribute them in a very thin area above the soil, dispersing them safely and efficiently to kill the weeds they come into contact with as well as the weed seed bank that’s embedded in the soil,” Paul Barrett, head of physical sciences for IP Group, and director of Growave, told Business News. 

Currently in its present ideation, the cost of Growave’s technology is on par with existing soil treatments, however, Dr. Brodie told Anthill Magazine. “As no chemicals are used, treated crops and fields do not require isolation. It is environmentally friendly and less expensive per hectare than most alternatives.”

Traditional agricultural herbicide usage is tied to multiple issues and challenges – herbicide resistance (Smart Company stated that there are 25 varieties of weeds in Australia alone that display resistance to traditional herbicides); the inability for application in the rain or in windy conditions; and the tendency to run-off into waterways to name but a few.

Growave provides farmers with an alternative solution that is extremely precise and ecologically sound. And the modular equipment can be integrated across operations by mounting on any tractor or trailer.

“Whenever you put anything that has a lot of water in a microwave oven, it starts to heat up. We can do the same thing by projecting energy onto the ground,” Brodie explained to Startup Smart. 

“Basically, what it does is, if it’s an emerged-weed, it creates little explosions inside the plant and that, of course, kills the plant.

“If the seed is in the soil, what it does is it actually heats the soil and the seeds up to the point where the seeds actually die and they won’t germinate or emerge.”

This technology not only presents an answer for farmers looking to reduce or eliminate chemical herbicides, but is also an answer for consumers looking for cleaner food supply chains.

“Broadly, consumers are becoming more aware of chemicals in the food chain, whether that be plastics getting into the waterways or chemicals in our foodstuffs,” said Barrett. “With that backdrop, we were hungry to find an opportunity there to meet consumer demands.”

With new trials beginning on an organic vegetable farm in Southern Queensland and on farmland in Victoria, the startup plans to use the funds from this round to advance the commercialization of its technology – first in domestic markets, before taking aim at global expansion.

“It is anticipated in 18 months the Growave technology will be ready for commercial deployment. Herbicide resistance is a growing problem worldwide so people are looking for alternative ways to manage weeds,” Barrett told Antihill Magazine. 

– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to the GAI News and Agtech Intel platforms. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.