GREEN IMPULSE, the pioneer and specialist in bio-control synergists for plant protection, is raising €1 million with the participation of GO CAPITAL and ANJOU AMORCAGE.
November 12, 2019,
GREEN IMPULSE has just closed a €1M fundraising from GO CAPITAL Amorçage II, ANJOU AMORCAGE and BPIFRANCE. These funds will enable the GREEN IMPULSE team to develop and commercialise the world’s first biocontrol Synergist* for the plant protection market and to aim to obtain a marketing authorisation by 2025.
GREEN IMPULSE was founded at the beginning of 2019 in Angers by Alexandre OLIVAUD and Emmanuel PAJOT, both experienced in the field of bio-control and crop protection. The technology used is the result of many years of research carried out by the FUNGISEM and SONAS laboratories of the University of Angers, based at the heart of the Campus du Végétal. These 2 laboratories are respectively specialists in plant pathogenic fungi and natural substances, mainly of plant origin (extraction-purification, analysis, synthesis, biological valorisation). GREEN IMPULSE is developing this patented technology through the acquisition of an exclusive operating licence in partnership with SATT Ouest Valorisation.
Fungi are responsible for 80% of the diseases known to date in cultivated plants and cause production losses of around 15% on a global scale. The fight against these fungal diseases is essentially carried out through the use of synthetic phytosanitary products (fungicides). Crop protection is set to evolve towards new strategies that no longer rely solely on the use of pesticides. In this context, GREEN IMPULSE is committed to the development of new strategies to combat plant pathogenic fungi in order to improve the performance and rapid deployment of alternatives to fungicides, particularly bio-control products.
This commitment by Green Impulse is reflected in the development of a new technology, “Synergists”, which consists of weakening pathogenic fungi, without killing them, in order to make them more sensitive to the plants’ natural defence responses (plant immune responses). Thus, all protection strategies based on the plants’ natural ability to defend themselves (e.g. tolerant or resistant varieties, Plant Defence Stimulators, PDS) associated with GREEN IMPULSE’s Synergists, will be more effective and sustainable in controlling the development of diseases in agriculture.
* Synergist: Substance or preparation reinforcing the activity of the active substance(s) present in the plant protection product(s).
Alexandre OLIVAUD and Emmanuel PAJOT, founders of GREEN IMPULSE: “This fundraising will allow us to reach a first Technological and Regulatory GO by initiating the necessary steps for the European registration of a first synergistic natural active substance, with the objective of obtaining future marketing authorisations in Europe. We are proud to be able to succeed in this first stage of our business project because there is an urgent need to provide farmers with new solutions, and also to be able to promote the work of researchers who are invested in and sensitive to innovation in the plant production sector.
Contact GREEN IMPULSE: Alexandre OLIVAUD, President and co-founder, 06.99.24.67.99
mail : a.olivaud@greenimpulse.fr
website : www.greenimpulse.fr
About GO CAPITAL
GO CAPITAL is an independent management company managing seed and venture capital investment funds for nearly €200 million and investing in innovative technology companies based in Western France (Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Normandy and Centre Val de Loire).
The GO CAPITAL Amorçage II fund, launched in April 2017, is endowed with €74m and is subscribed by the Fonds National d’Amorçage (managed by Bpifrance Investissement as part of the Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir), by the European Investment Fund, by the Regions of Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Normandy and Centre Val de Loire regions, by banking partners (Banque Populaire Grand Ouest, Caisse d’Epargne de Normandie, CIC Ouest, CM ARKEA and Crédit Agricole Atlantique Vendée), the Metropolises of Nantes and Rennes, and by some twenty entrepreneurs.
Frederic LE GUILLOU in charge of investment at GO Capital: “We are very proud to support GREEN IMPULSE in this ambitious project which provides a real response to current agronomic issues, by strengthening and boosting the effectiveness of bio-control products!
Contact : Frédéric LE GUILLOU, investment officer, 06.64.38.01.74
mail : frederic.leguillou@gocapital.fr
website : www.gocapital.fr
About ANJOU AMORCAGE
ANJOU AMORCAGE is a venture capital company with a diversified shareholder base made up of local economic players: the Maine-et-Loire Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 4 regional banks: Banque Populaire, Crédit Mutuel d’Anjou, CIC – Crédit Agricole de l’Anjou et du Maine and some thirty Maine-et-Loire companies.
The ANJOU AMORCAGE fund is a mechanism for taking minority stakes in the capital of innovative companies in the seed phase in the Maine-et-Loire department.
Contact : Christine CARMES, CCI Maine-et-Loire, Financial Engineering Advisor, 02.41.20.54.83
mail : christine.carmes@maineetloire.cci.fr
website : https://www.maineetloire.cci.fr/anjou-amorcage
Counsel to the operation :
– Lawyer for the company: Me Clémence BARON, CABINET 1897 AVOCATS, Nantes
– Lawyer for the investors: Me Arnaud KERMARREC, KERMARREC CHOUINARD ET ASSOCIES Saint Jacques de la Lande.
De gauche à droite sur la photo ; Christine CARMES d’Anjou Amorçage, Alexandre OLIVAUD et Emmanuel PAJOT les co-fondateurs de GREEN IMPULSE et Frédéric LE GUILLOU de GO CAPITAL.
Photo des deux fondateurs de GREEN IMPULSE, Alexandre OLIVAUD & Emmanuel PAJOT
