Apeo spin-off: €6M raised for a natural alternative to glyphosate

Apeo (for "Agronomical Plant Extracts & Essential Oils") is a spin-off from Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech ULiège specializing in the development, registration and marketing of bioherbicides based on essential oils. The start-up has just raised 6 million euros from private and public investors (the Walloon Region).

An alternative to glyphosate

After more than ten years of research by the Laboratoire de Phytopathologie Intégrée et Urbaine , the innovative formula was created by Pr Haissam Jijakli and researcher Simon Dal Maso, who became co-founders of Apeo. The result is an essential oil available in several formulations. This product has attracted a lot of attention because, unlike most of the phytosanitary products currently on the market, it has zero toxicity.

Job creation

The start-up's fund-raising will not only contribute to the registration of essential oil-based products, but will also create jobs within APEO. In March, the spin-off's workforce was increased from two to six.

These essential oil-based bioherbicides will be marketed to consumers within five years, and to agricultural professionals by 2028.

Find out more about Apeo: rtbf report in french (12/03/2021)