Crop Intellect
Crop Intellect Ltd is a UK-based agritech R&D company that invents and commercializes patented crop-input technologies — including the R-Leaf® NOx-conversion fertilizer, Tecal® calcium shelf-life product, and the Chlorophyll Increase Activator (licensed to Cargill) — serving growers, agricultural input manufacturers, and R&D clients globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersLincoln, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Crop Intellect does
Crop Intellect Ltd is a UK-based agricultural R&D company founded in 2011 in Lincoln, operating with a lean 1–10 person team. The company invents proprietary agritech technologies in-house and monetizes them through three channels: direct product sales of formulated inputs (R-Leaf® photocatalytic NOx-conversion fertilizer at £30/L and Tecal® calcium-based 'Lock-in Freshness' foliar product at £20/L sold via website sample ordering), licensing or outright transfer of patented IP to larger agricultural and chemical companies (most notably the global licensing/sale of the Chlorophyll Increase Activator patent family to a Cargill subsidiary), and bespoke R&D and GEP-standard crop trial services for SMEs and multinationals.
The underlying technology portfolio is built on novel chemistry rather than digital or AI platforms. R-Leaf® uses specially processed photocatalysts that capture atmospheric NOx (N2O, NO, NO2) under normal daylight and convert it to plant-available nitrate, with claims of 75%+ N2O emission reduction and 5.4 tCO2e/year removal at field scale, validated by Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Lincoln and Imperial College London. Tecal® triggers calcium release from plant vacuoles into the cytosol and cell walls, strengthening structure and extending fresh-produce shelf-life. The Chlorophyll Increase Activator increases magnesium uptake and chlorophyll formation, supported by five years of field-trial data, and its globally-granted patent family has been licensed to Cargill for worldwide commercialization.
The company has secured over £0.5m in grant funding from InnovateUK, Climate-KIC and the EIC Accelerator, plus a 2023 £1.5m EIC Accelerator/Crop Intellect co-commitment to commercialize R-Leaf®, with additional non-dilutive support from MassChallenge (2015) and Cultivator (2022). Dr Apostolos Papadopoulos is founder and sole senior R&D leader, and the firm pursues an EC fertiliser regulatory classification and carbon-credit registration for R-Leaf® as additional commercialization pathways.
Crop Intellect firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Crop Intellect
- Legal name
- Crop Intellect Ltd
- Website
- https://cropintellect.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Crop Intellect Ltd is a UK-based agritech R&D company that invents and commercializes patented crop-input technologies — including the R-Leaf® NOx-conversion fertilizer, Tecal® calcium shelf-life product, and the Chlorophyll Increase Activator (licensed to Cargill) — serving growers, agricultural input manufacturers, and R&D clients globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Crop Intellect industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Crop Nutrition
- NAICS
- Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (3253), Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)
- SIC
- Agricultural Chemicals (2870), Agricultural Services (700), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Remote Sensing & Crop Scouting Services (Satellite, Drone Imagery, In‑Field Sensing) (AFACACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Plant Tissue, Soil & Water Sampling Coordination (Agronomy-Focused) (AFACABAH), Yield Monitoring & Harvest Data Analytics (AFABAMAF)
Keywords
Where Crop Intellect is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lincoln
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Crop Intellect business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations
Revenue model
- Technology Licensing and IP Sales: Licensing of patented technologies to commercial partners. Technologies can be offered as additives for formulations, licensed for partner management, or full IP ownership transferred for global control. The Chlorophyll Increase Activator was licensed and sold to a subsidiary of Cargill for global commercialization.
- Product Sales: Direct sales of formulated products including R-Leaf® and Tecal® to end users in agriculture. Products sold per litre through website ordering.
- Efficacy Crop Trials: Professional and bespoke efficacy trials performed to GEP standards for field and greenhouse crops. Includes protocol design, statistical analysis, full reports with recommendations.
- Bespoke R&D Services: Contract research and development services from Proof of Concept to multi-disciplinary projects. Services include new product development, innovation process management, technical support, and commercialization guidance for clients ranging from SMEs to multinationals.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | R-Leaf® sample product |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Tecal® sample product |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Crop Intellect product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Crop Intellect is a UK-based agritech research and development company that develops patented agricultural input technologies and licenses or commercializes them. It sells proprietary foliar and photocatalytic crop nutrition products (Tecal® and R-Leaf®) and provides bespoke R&D and GEP-standard efficacy crop trials for agrochemical and seed companies.
Product overview
Crop Intellect is an agritech R&D company offering a portfolio of innovative crop technology products and services. Their core product offerings include Tecal® (a foliar calcium product with proprietary 'Lock-in Freshness' technology for shelf-life extension), R-Leaf® (a disruptive photocatalytic technology that converts air pollution NOx into plant nitrogen), and the Chlorophyll Increase Activator (which was sold to Cargill). The company also provides research and development services including bespoke R&D and efficacy crop trials performed to GEP standards. Their technologies are offered as additives for formulation integration, licensing arrangements, or IP ownership transfer.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Tecal®: A speciality foliar calcium product containing 'Lock-in Freshness' technology. Proven as the most effective technology globally to increase shelf-life for fresh produce.
- R-Leaf®
- Chlorophyll Increase Activator
Products and services
- Tecal® Patented foliar-applied calcium delivery product designed to improve crop calcium uptake, yield, and quality for commercial growers and agricultural input distributors.
- R-Leaf® Patented photocatalytic technology that converts atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NOx) into a nitrogen fertilizer directly on the leaf surface, reducing emissions and providing crop nitrogen nutrition.
- Chlorophyll Increase Activator Proprietary bioactive formulation that increases chlorophyll content in crops; the underlying IP was acquired by Cargill for further development and commercialization.
- Bespoke Agricultural R&D Services Contract research and development services delivering novel crop input technologies, formulations, and proof-of-concept studies for agrochemical, seed, and biotech companies.
- Efficacy Crop Trials GEP-standard field and controlled-environment efficacy trials that validate the performance of crop inputs for regulatory submission and marketing claims by agrochemical and biostimulant developers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduction of over 75% of N2O emissions achievable with wide-scale R-Leaf® implementation
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Crop Intellect
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Crop Intellect technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Crop Intellect partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Manchester Metropolitan UniversitycoreIndependent experts in photocatalysis tested R-Leaf® efficacy under UV and normal light using approved methods measuring photocatalysis through CO2 monitoring. Results showed material was 10x more effective than unprocessed material.
- University of LincolncoreCollaborated with University of Lincoln to confirm conversion of N2O, NO and NO2 to nitrate for plant use. Data generated confirmed the amount of nitrate produced is directly related to ppm NOx concentration.
- Cargill SubsidiarycoreThe Chlorophyll Increase Activator patent was licensed and sold to a subsidiary of Cargill for global commercialization. Represents a major commercial partnership for technology deployment.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Crop Intellect competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AgBiome: Microbial crop protection and nutrition company developing biological inputs from genomic discovery. Comparable in operating an R&D-driven pipeline that translates microbial/biological discovery into licensable crop input products.
- Pivot Bio: Developer of microbial nitrogen-fixing crop inputs that reduce synthetic fertilizer dependence. Directly comparable to Crop Intellect's R-Leaf® technology in addressing nitrogen delivery to crops via novel mechanisms, with a focus on sustainability outcomes and broad-acre row crops.
- NewLeaf Symbiotics: Develops pink pigmented facultative methylotrophs (PPFMs) for crop nutrition, stress tolerance, and yield improvement. Comparable as an early-stage biologicals company translating novel microbial mechanisms into foliar/seed treatment products for major row crops and horticulture.
- Sound Agriculture: Develops bio-inspired crop inputs that improve nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency. Comparable in targeting nutrient-use-efficiency via novel chemistry/microbiology and licensing technology to ag-input partners for commercialization.
- Azotic Technologies: UK-based nitrogen-fixation biological company commercializing N-Fix technology that enables non-legume crops to fix atmospheric nitrogen. Directly comparable as a UK-based agritech innovator pursuing novel nitrogen-delivery mechanisms with a sustainability-driven value proposition.
Others
- Cargill: Global agribusiness and crop input conglomerate. Relevant as the licensing partner/buyer of Crop Intellect's Chlorophyll Increase Activator patent and representative of the type of multinational acquirer/licensee the company targets for downstream commercialization of its technology.
Broad incumbents
- Indigo Ag: Largest US-based agricultural biologicals company developing microbial and plant-based inputs for crop nutrition, nitrogen efficiency, and sustainability outcomes. Highly comparable as a biological/sustainable crop-input innovator with licensing and product commercialization models targeting yield and emissions reduction.
Emerging players
- Concentric Ag: Developer of microbial biostimulant and biocontrol products for specialty and row crops. Comparable emerging player with a similar product development/licensing orientation in the biological crop input space.
- BioConsortia: US-based microbial discovery and crop input company developing biostimulants and biocontrol products from proprietary microbial libraries. Comparable in operating an R&D engine that translates novel biological discovery into licensable crop input products.
- Aphea.Bio: Belgium-based biological crop input company developing microbial products for cereal crops with a focus on nitrogen use efficiency. Comparable European emerging player in sustainable crop nutrition technology development and licensing.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Crop Intellect social profiles
Digital presenceCrop Intellect financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Crop Intellect leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Crop Intellect funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Crop Intellect M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Crop Intellect
What does Crop Intellect do?
Crop Intellect is a UK-based agritech research and development company that develops patented agricultural input technologies and licenses or commercializes them. It sells proprietary foliar and photocatalytic crop nutrition products (Tecal® and R-Leaf®) and provides bespoke R&D and GEP-standard efficacy crop trials for agrochemical and seed companies.
Is Crop Intellect a public or private company?
Crop Intellect is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Crop Intellect founded?
Crop Intellect was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Crop Intellect based?
Crop Intellect is headquartered in Lincoln, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Crop Intellect make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Technology Licensing and IP Sales are the primary driver. The others are product Sales, efficacy Crop Trials and bespoke R&D Services.
Who are Crop Intellect's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AgBiome, Pivot Bio, NewLeaf Symbiotics, Sound Agriculture and Azotic Technologies. Cargill is listed as an others. Indigo Ag is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are Concentric Ag, BioConsortia and Aphea.Bio.
Does Crop Intellect have an API?
No public API is recorded for Crop Intellect.
What industry is Crop Intellect in?
Crop Intellect's product category is Agricultural Crop Nutrition. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFACACAA, Remote Sensing & Crop Scouting Services (Satellite, Drone Imagery, In‑Field Sensing), with a secondary code of AFACABAH, Plant Tissue, Soil & Water Sampling Coordination (Agronomy-Focused). Its NAICS code is 3253 and its SIC code is 2870.