From precision proteins to beneficial fungi, a new generation of European startups is developing alternatives to conventional pesticides—and bringing them to market.
For more than a century, crop protection has relied on synthetic chemicals to control pests and diseases. Today, climate change and tighter regulations are driving demand for more sustainable approaches. In response, researchers and entrepreneurs are developing biological alternatives that promise greater precision and a lighter environmental footprint.
But scientific discovery is only the beginning. Bringing these innovations to farmers requires navigating manufacturing, regulation, and the realities of the marketplace. “The biggest hurdle is usually not the science; it’s understanding that commercial success is governed by economics rather than novelty,” says Jens Nielsen, CEO of the BioInnovation Institute (BII), an international commercialization foundation that supports promising life science and deep-tech startups. “Scientists naturally focus on demonstrating that something works. Entrepreneurs must demonstrate that it can be produced reliably, at scale, and at a cost customers are willing to pay.”
Through its specialized accelerator programs, BII provides funding, business development support, and infrastructure to help early-stage companies translate promising discoveries into viable businesses. Two such startups, Yngvi Bio and Mycoverse, are working to bring their crop protection products to market. Yngvi Bio’s journey to apply AI-guided protein design to pest control began with an unexpected email.
A partnership begins
Kenneth Veland Halberg, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen who had spent the past 15 years studying insect physiology using fruit flies and flour beetles, was half-listening to a conference presentation when he checked his inbox. There was a new email: an unfamiliar researcher proposing a radical solution to the biological bottleneck he had been trying to solve for years.
Halberg’s recent research had uncovered a peculiar insect survival mechanism—the ability to take up water vapor through the rectum to stave off fatal dehydration—that had sparked a flurry of media interest. “I have always wanted to understand how the most successful group of animals on Earth actually work,” says Halberg, now co-CEO, CSO, and co-founder of Yngvi Bio, a biotech startup from BII’s 2025 Venture Lab cohort. But the world desperately needs a way to tackle devastating insect pests, he says, and the chemical tools farmers have relied on for a century are poisoning the planet’s soils and waterways.
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