Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English, has announced the winners of the 2021 Innovation Arena Awards.
A novel seaweed-based crop biostimulant and an app to help horse owners keep track of their stock were among those recognised as the most innovative Irish agritech and agri-engineering products.
Brandon Bioscience
The marine biotech company, Brandon Bioscience in Tralee, Co Kerry, is this year’s overall Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena Awards winner.
In collaboration with the traditional fertiliser manufacturer, Target Fertilisers, the company’s winning entry is an innovative new biostimulant product.
Using extracts from common brown seaweed, it has the potential to reduce chemical nitrogen input on farms by up to 20%.
EquiTrace
The best overall start-up award went to Jennifer and Kevin Corley, founders of EquiTrace.
The app works with a horse’s microchip to identify, locate and track individual animals as they move. When used with a Merck Bio-Thermo chip and scanner, it also records the animal’s temperature and health records.
For the second consecutive year, the 2021 Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena Awards, in association with the National Ploughing Association (NPA), took place virtually.
2021 Innovation Arena Awards
Winners of this year’s awards are automatically eligible to exhibit in the 2021 winners enclosure section at the Innovation Arena in 2022.
Organisers received more than 50 entries for this year’s awards competition, with 28 selected for virtual pitching.
The overall and best start-up award winners will receive €5,000 each.
There were 14 award category winners, including:
- Overall Winner (Established company) and Sustainable Agriculture Award: Brandon BioScience, Kerry
- Overall Winner (Start-up company) and Vet Technology Award: EquiTrace, Kildare
- Agricultural Engineering Award and ACE Agritech Centre of Excellence Award: Samco Agricultural, Limerick
- Agritech Start-up Award: ApisProtect, Cork
- Agritech Established Company Award: Alltech, Meath
- Agri-safety Award: Calving Assist, Tipperary
- One to Watch Award: SlurryQuip, Down
- Young Innovator of the Year: Carbon Harvesters, Dublin
- ifac Best Newcomer Award: Moonsyst International, Cork
- On-Farm Innovation Award – Alfie Cox Founder’s Perpetual Trophy: Crushmate, Laois
- AgtechUCD Startup Award: FodderBox Ltd, Cork
