GREAT-4PA · Self-powered and fully biodegradable electronic system for measuring local parameters and releasing agrochemicals in agricultural fields
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-01-16 → 2023-01-15
- EU contribution
- €160,932
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Self-powered and fully biodegradable electronic system for measuring local parameters and releasing agrochemicals in agricultural fields
As a major societal concern, it is imperative to reduce agricultural pollution. Indeed, to boost the growth of crops and to increase cereal yields, agrochemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, etc.) are today overused. This negatively impacts the environment: for instance, in the EU, a significant part of water bodies are under pressure from intensive agriculture. Precision agriculture (PA) can help European agriculture to shift towards more sustainable practices. PA refers to new technological sensing capabilities (ex: battery-powered wireless sensors) in order to remotely collect local relevant parameters (ex: temperature, humidity, pH, etc.) so that variations in conditions within an agricultural field can be assessed. The local parameters retrieved can help growers to take more informed decisions in a timely manner. For example, instead of treating the whole field periodically, growers can use agrochemicals only where and when it is really needed. The promise of PA is hence to produce more while using less chemical inputs. Nonetheless, deploying large networks of electronic sensing units (nodes) to cover vast fields is challenging. Indeed, batteries offer limited operation lifetime. On one hand, recollecting large quantities of dispersed dysfunctional devices is not an option for the growers. On the other hand, the nodes cannot remain in the soil. The electronic components and batteries they embed are indeed full of hazardous materials and heavy metals. As such, nodes currently in use actually constitute another source of pollution. To tackle such problems, the GREAT-4PA project aimed at redefining the core electronic components of battery-powered nodes to make them completely eco-friendly. In particular, the project proposed a concrete solution to the problem of the toxic batteries via the development of a power source having the ability to physically disappear after a period of stable operation so that it can it left in the soil after use without environmental impact.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Wireless electronic systems (nodes) used in precision agriculture (PA) can bring solutions to a grand challenge that Europe is facing: producing more/better food despite shrinking agricultural zones while also limiting pollution by reducing the amount of agrochemicals used. Nevertheless, severe constraints apply to conventional nodes that must be deployed in vast agricultural fields: i) they are powered by batteries that must be replaced or recharged; ii) they cannot be left in the soil because of the toxic metals/materials they intrinsically contain. With the aim to set new standards for nodes used in PA, the GREAT-4PA project proposes to redefine completely the core electronic components of game-changing nodes having unique and unprecedented attributes. Specifically, this proposal focuses on developing green autonomous nodes; namely self-powered biodegradable/compostable nodes having the ability to physically disappear after a period of stable operation so they could be left in the soil after use with zero environmental impact. Further, the GREAT-4PA project proposes to go beyond the usual sensing capabilities of nodes by adding actuation functionalities to create green smart transducers which could deliver agrochemicals locally (e.g., near the plant roots). The project involves two of the most prominent figures in the field of paper-based microfluidic fuel cells and biodegradable batteries (Dr. Neus Sabaté and Dr. Juan Pablo Esquivel, IMBCNM-CSIC, Spain). To maximise the outcomes and potential impact of the proposed research, two additional actions are planned: i) a partnership with the Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA); ii) a secondment within Fuelium, a Spanish company specialised in the development and commercialization of paper-based batteries. The completion of such a multidisciplinary project could open up research avenues. It will also lay the foundation for long-term collaborative efforts with partner organisations in academia and industry.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · MadridCoordinatorSpain
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union