Nordic Genetic Resource Center

What Nordic Genetic Resource Center does

Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) is a public-sector Nordic cooperation organization established in 2008 and operating under the Nordic Council of Ministers, headquartered in Alnarp, Sweden with sector offices in Ås, Norway for Farm Animals and Forest sectors. Its mandate is to safeguard and facilitate the sustainable use of genetic resources for agriculture, horticulture, and forestry across the Nordic and Baltic regions. NordGen operates three core service lines: Plants (including a Nordic-Baltic genebank and the GENBIS searchable database), Farm Animals (with the EVA-tool for genetic evaluation), and Forest (including regeneration councils and conferences). The organization is internationally recognized for operating the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Crop Trust, having surpassed 1.4 million seed samples from 134 depositors representing 1,239 genera and 6,539 plant species.

The core technology stack centers on physical and informational conservation infrastructure: seed laboratories, in vitro and molecular laboratories, greenhouses, and field facilities, plus the Seed Portal — an online database cataloging all Seed Vault deposits and integrated with the global Genesys accession portal. A separate consumer-facing Webshop sells seeds to private users, while the Nordic Public Private Partnership on Pre-breeding (PPP) channels collaborative R&D funding. The Svalbard facility itself is engineered as a long-term safety backup, carved into Svalbard's Plateau Mountain with seeds stored at -18°C under black box conditions, with a maximum capacity of 4.5 million samples.

NordGen's revenue model is non-commercial and entirely publicly funded. Core operations are financed through the Nordic Council of Ministers, while the Svalbard Global Seed Vault's annual operating cost of approximately EUR 1 million is funded by the Norwegian government. All services — including seed storage, deposit, and maintenance in the Seed Vault — are provided free of charge to depositors (genebanks bear only packing and shipping costs). The Webshop for private users generates negligible commercial revenue. Total operating scale is not publicly disclosed, but spans roughly 22 listed staff across three offices and a broader multi-sector mandate. NordGen is governed by a board with Nordic country representatives and observers from the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and environmental agencies, with deposit operations advised by an International Advisory Panel including members from Switzerland, Czech Republic, Norway, Benin, Malaysia, and Italy.

Name

Nordic Genetic Resource Center

Legal name

Nordic Genetic Resource Centre

Website

https://nordgen.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NordGen is the Nordic public-sector genebank and knowledge center under the Nordic Council of Ministers, safeguarding genetic resources for Nordic agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. It operates the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, holding over 1.4 million seed samples from 134 international depositors, and provides conservation, research, and pre-breeding services across the Nordic-Baltic region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Alnarp

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: NordGen is a public organization funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. All services including seed storage and deposit in Svalbard Global Seed Vault are provided free of charge to depositors.
2. Seed Storage Services: Free seed storage services provided to genebanks worldwide through Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The service is funded by Norway and managed through a partnership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NordGen is a Nordic public-sector knowledge center and genebank that conserves and provides genetic resources from plants, farm animals, and forests. The organization operates the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, maintains seed collections, hosts searchable databases (Seed Portal and GENBIS), runs a webshop for seed distribution, and supports international research and breeding through collaborative programs.

Product overview

NordGen operates as a unified product-and-services organization centered on safeguarding Nordic genetic resources for agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. The core offerings include the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (a long-term safety backup facility for seed samples), the Seed Portal (an online database for searching seed samples and managing deposits), and the GENBIS search tool. Additional products include a Webshop for seed sales to private users, the EVA-tool for farm animal genetic evaluation, and the Nordic Public Private Partnership on Pre-breeding (PPP) program. NordGen also provides sector-specific services across Plants, Farm Animals, and Forest genetic resources. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault and Seed Portal form the centerpiece of their global conservation infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Svalbard Global Seed Vault: A long-term safety backup facility for the world's crop diversity, operated in partnership between the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, NordGen, and the Crop Trust.

Products and services

• Svalbard Global Seed Vault Secure long-term seed storage facility located in Svalbard, Norway, operated by NordGen to preserve duplicate samples of seed collections from genebanks worldwide. Provides backup storage for the world's crop diversity.
• Seed Portal Online database providing searchable catalog of seed samples available from NordGen's collection of plants and their wild relatives. Used by plant breeders, researchers, and genebanks to identify and request genetic material.
• GENBIS Search tool and information system for genetic resources, enabling users to search and access information about plant genetic resources held by NordGen and partner institutions.
• NordGen Webshop Online webshop enabling users to order and purchase seeds from NordGen's collection for research, breeding, or educational purposes.
• EVA-tool Evaluation tool for farm animal genetic resources, supporting the conservation and sustainable use of Nordic farm animal breeds and their genetic diversity.
• PPP on Pre-breeding Collaborative pre-breeding program for crops, bringing together plant breeders, researchers, and institutions to develop pre-breeding materials that can be used in plant breeding programs.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Advisory Panel (IAP) MemberscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025The IAP consists of representatives from genebanks, plant breeders, and state officials worldwide. Current members include representatives from Switzerland, Czech Republic, Norway, Benin, Malaysia, and Italy. The panel provides advice on Seed Vault operations to the three partner organizations.
• Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and FoodcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008The Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food is the owner of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. NordGen operates the Seed Vault in partnership with this ministry and Crop Trust. NordGen signs deposit agreements on behalf of the ministry.
• Crop TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Crop Trust is an independent international organization that operates the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in partnership with NordGen and the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The three organizations jointly manage the vault operations.
• Nordic Council of MinisterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNordGen operates under the Nordic Council of Ministers framework, serving as the regional genebank for all Nordic and Baltic countries.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Crop Trust: Crop Trust is an independent international organization that co-manages the Svalbard Global Seed Vault with NordGen and the Norwegian Ministry. It directly partners with NordGen on global crop diversity conservation and funding, sharing the same mandate and infrastructure.
• ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas): ICARDA is a CGIAR research center that maintains one of the world's largest collections of crop genetic resources for dryland agriculture. It is a major depositor to the Svalbard Vault and shares NordGen's focus on conserving agricultural genetic diversity.
• European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR): ECPGR is a collaborative programme among European countries to coordinate plant genetic resource conservation. It is comparable to NordGen's regional coordination role for the Nordic-Baltic area and overlaps on genebank operations.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Millennium Seed Bank): The Millennium Seed Bank at Kew is the UK's flagship seed banking facility, focused on preserving global plant diversity through long-term seed storage. It is directly comparable to NordGen's mandate and infrastructure at the Svalbard Vault.

Broad incumbents

• Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT: This international research organization manages one of the largest genebank collections globally as part of the CGIAR system. It shares NordGen's conservation mandate but with broader research and breeding scope across tropical and developing country crops.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization): FAO hosts the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) under which NordGen operates. While a UN body with much broader scope, FAO provides the multilateral policy framework that NordGen's work depends upon.
• Global Crop Diversity Trust (CGIAR System Organization): The CGIAR System coordinates global agricultural research and maintains multiple international genebanks. It is broadly comparable to NordGen's role as a coordinating genetic resource body, though at significantly larger global scale.
• USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS): The USDA NPGS is the United States' national network for preserving plant genetic resources, with multiple genebanks across the country. It is comparable in mission to NordGen but operates at national scale with broader crop coverage.

Regional players

• Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK): IPK Gatersleben operates Germany's Federal Ex situ Gene Bank, one of Europe's largest genebanks. It is comparable in mandate to NordGen and is a fellow Svalbard Vault depositor, though serving a different (national) geographic scope.

Emerging players

• World Agroforestry (ICRAF): ICRAF is a CGIAR center focused on agroforestry and forest genetic resource management. It is comparable to NordGen's Forest sector activities, particularly in conserving tree species genetic diversity for resilience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nordgen
• Facebookfacebook.com/nordgen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nordgen
• Instagraminstagram.com/nordgen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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