Plant-e is the world's only company harvesting energy from living plants without harming them. A women-led startup, Plant-e launched in 2009 as a spin-off of Wageningen University. Based on the PhD research of Marjolein Helder, our CEO, Plant-e's team has 20+ years of commercial experience, multiple PhDs, and 10+ years of R&D experience in this field, pushing our growth to 2 granted patents and 3000+ prototypes tested so far. With a business model based on device sales and maintenance fees, we entered the smart lighting and sensoring market with custom projects. The Park of Tomorrow in Rotterdam (NL) is an interactive lighting system in a park and together with ESA data was collected and sent into space by P-MFC power. Plant-e technology doesn't emit any greenhouse gases such as CO2 or methane, on the contrary: it acts as a carbon sink, capturing up to 2 kg of CO2/kWh produced. As such, Plant-e contributes to the "zero pollution and carbon neutrality" ambitions set by the EU.

The EcoSentinel project envisions a groundbreaking transformation in our relationship with nature to address pressing global sustainability challenges as biosphere integrity degradation, fostering a harmonious coexistence between technological innovation and environmental conservation; culminating in a community of Ecological Sentinels (EcoSentinel). Specifically, EcoSentinel leverages the biological processes and the resilient nature of living plants to give them the necessary means (i.e., energy harvesting and electromagnetic signal propagation) to become self-sustained digital nodes of a network able to autonomously monitor themselves. This revolutionary approach aims to enhance our capacity to safeguard forests and other ecosystems. The EcoSentinel technology will introduce a carbon-negative wireless communication system, powered by the ecosystem itself, enabling environmental monitoring to prevent and mitigate critical events such as wildfires and biodiversity loss. The EcoSentinel project proposes a new form of plant-plant interaction by elevating it to a digital level. By enhancing plants’ interconnection through cybernetical implants, we embark on a path to digitally transform the greenery. This unprecedented approach aims to establish a novel wireless plant-based communication system, using plants as natural antennas, uniquely powered by the integration of plant-microbial electricity generation seamlessly blended into the vegetation.

<< Background >>Why are nature-based solutions not used more often to address the current global urban challenges? One of the main reasons is the lack of interconnectedness and cooperation between the biology sector with design, industry, and entrepreneurship experts. BUILDs aimed at giving response to this challenge by creating an innovative transdisciplinary educational model targeted at students to work towards the development of marketable products integrating living systems through the creation of startups<< Objectives >>The project’s main objective was to develop an experimental transdisciplinary educational program that linked the fields of biology, intelligent design, and business by incorporating an exhaustive and complementary set of activities that run from the development of courses for students and trainers, symposiums, the compilation of educational resources, to the set-up of an accelerator program, the launch of an international call for ideas and the creation of new networks of collaboration.<< Implementation >>BUILDs project has undertaken a total of 15 key activities (corresponding to 35 Deliverables) with outstanding results: - 3 Trainers Workshops- One-Year Programme, 5-Day Workshop- Online Challenge- Accelerator Programme- 3 Intensive Courses- 3 Symposiums and Final Exhibition- Template of common educational resources, Final Book<< Results >>With a result-driven approach, BUILDs has provided students, researchers, and entrepreneurs with the necessary tools, skills, and motivation to think out-of-the box with the aim of addressing the current urban challenges by promoting more sustainable and greener cities. By merging three disciplines in one educational setting, it has proved to be a successful interdisciplinary higher educational programme able to incorporate an innovative business mindset at its center.