Our new bioprocess plant – pioneering R+D+i
The new, recently inaugurated, facilities in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid), are an example of cutting-edge biotechnology with state-of-the-art fermenters that allow the production process to be monitored and controlled in real time.
Our downstream process and innovative drying technology enable us to develop solid form (WP) formulations at very high concentrations compared with other products. Thanks to this technology we have been able to reduce the doses applied to crops.
We also have a modern microbiology laboratory kitted out with all the necessary equipment to assist the bioproduction plant with quality controlling and maintaining the probiotic strains, in addition to conducting research and development.
In the lab, we select the strains of microorganisms that are most efficient when it comes to biologically fixing atmospheric nitrogen (N), solubilizing phosphorus (P), mobilizing potassium (K) and micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Mn, Si), and biostimulant action.
Highly specialized, the best biofertilizers and probiotics
We are the only company that is completely specialized in probiotics, biofertilizers, biostimulants and Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPB). Given the urgent need to seek solutions for regenerating and revitalizing soils, it is necessary to provide new sources of, principally, nitrogen and phosphorus in organic, biodynamic, and conventional agriculture.
Ceres Biotics formulations contain microorganisms selected from nature, rather than genetically modified organisms. These enhance both the growth of crops and the quality of agricultural soils. Within a single species of microorganism, each strain has a different genetic expression and therefore has a different effect on the crop. Our technology has enabled us to identify the most effective strains at the agronomic level, which are safe and harmless, and these are multiplied in a controlled manner, under sterile conditions.
The main lines of R+D+i focus on selecting the most efficient strains of microorganisms in terms of biostimulation, fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, solubilization and mobilization of phosphorus, potassium, and micronutrients. The production process is then fine-tuned and optimised in the laboratory, and later scaled-up to the industrial plant.
As a result of our work over the past few years we have our own collection of strains from different species (Azotobacter sp.; Paenibacillus sp.; Herbaspirillum sp.; Bacillus sp; etc.). The exhaustive study of the strains used is verified with laboratory and field tests. In addition, we have conducted analyses to characterize the effectiveness of strains, at various external centres, including the University of Salamanca.
The use of probiotics in agriculture presents limitations when working with living microorganisms that have a limited shelf life and resistance to different agronomic conditions. For this reason, in Ceres Biotics we have developed inoculants that are particularly resistant due to their mechanisms of action and morphology; and our manufacturing technology enables us to present our products in solid form, which is much more stable compared to liquid formulations, and therefore has a much longer expiration date.
The results are highly concentrated products that are easy to use and long expiry date, without need for cold storage.
Some of the tests carried out in our laboratories
We protect our research traceability and security
We protect our R+D+i biofertiliser and registration processes in different countries. The strains with the greatest potential and interest that we have isolated and identified in recent years have been deposited for patent purposes and/or restricted use in the Spanish Type Culture Collection (CECT) and/or the International Type Culture Collection in Budapest.
Our passion: R+D+i is in our DNA
We are a multidisciplinary team of engineers, agronomists, chemical engineers, and doctors in microbiology and biotechnology, with a long track record in the agricultural sector, in continuous contact with the field and with the will to share the challenge of sustainability with farmers and technicians.
More than 70% of our team are doctors, microbiologists, or engineers, and they are the mainstay of our R+D+i-based project. This highly qualified network shares a passion for research, with the certainty of putting our best know-how at the service of future agricultural sustainability. Doing a job we like and contributing to such an important social challenge is a real privilege for us.
Since its beginnings, Ceres Biotics has been developing an R+D+i strategy aligned with the needs of a highly technical and specialised agricultural sector. The Innovative SME seal, awarded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, confirms the research vocation of the team that has been awarded 2 projects in the last year: NEOTEC and two Torres Quevedo grants. The first was awarded in 2018, “Innovative biofertilizers that respect the environment and are safe for human health. Biotechnological approaches to obtain it by fermentation” (PTQ-17-0917) and the second in 2019, “Standardized Protocol to determine the health index of an agricultural soil and its improvement after the application of probiotic fertilizers” (PTQ2018-010223).
The development of the Ceres Biotics business plan 2018-2019 was funded by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) as part of the NEOTEC 2017 call, with file number SNEO-20171189, and it is also supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. In 2019, the CDTI Cervera project (file nº IDI-20190372) was awarded with the title “SINERBIOTIC; obtaining innovative formulated synergies based on endophytic microorganisms and directed prebiotics ”. The project, which was developed mainly in the bioprocess plant in Madrid, had a budget of € 467,652. The project had a duration of 2 years and was co-financed by the CDTI and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) identified with the motto “A way to make Europe”.
Ceres Biotics participated in November 2021 in the project “Healthy Crops in a Changing World: Innovative Multidisciplinary Approaches to Symbiotically Strengthen Crop Sustainability. (INNOSYMBIO)” (project reference PLEC2021-007774). Project funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR.
The CDTI PID Endo-BioN project (File IDI-20230488), with the title “Industrial research and sustainable development of novel endophytic plant probiotics advanced nitrogen fixers for broadacre crops”, aims to research and develop endophytic microorganisms fixers of atmospheric nitrogen and specifically develop a novel active biofertilizer and biostimulant capable of performing a broad spectrum atmospheric nitrogen fixation specific to broadacre crops, under an approach aligned with the Circular Economy and Sustainability. The project has a budget of 254,133€, has been carried out at the CERES BIOTICS facilities in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid) between January 2023 and January 2024, and has been funded by the CDTI and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
We have the best allies in R+D+i
All of our work is made possible in a large part through collaboration with prestigious research centres and universities in the field of microbiology and PGPB. Some of our research staff work in these centres to enhance synergies and accelerate research processes.
In this way, we work closely with the University of Salamanca, which in 2018 celebrated its 800th anniversary, and we are immersed in pioneering projects to identify new endophytes in very agriculturally interesting crops. Also, we are conducting a ground-breaking project to improve our formulations with the Biotechnology Centre AINIA, in Valencia, and we also work with Leitat, in Lleida, and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, among others.