Calyxia

The agriculture sector is increasingly turning to innovative methods for improving crop production. Historically, greater crop yield has been achieved by protecting crops using active ingredients, which can come at high costs, limited performance, and are often environmentally challenged with more and more constraints.

Calyxia, a deep-tech industrial company based in France, is driving the transformation of the agriculture sector through sustainable chemical solutions. It specializes in designing and producing high-performing and biodegradable microcapsule products that support farmers to expand food production and reducing the impact on the soil or the environment.

Calyxia’s microcapsules help reduce agrochemical usage, fight against soil artificialization, and increase crop yield production. Its microencapsulation technology limits the volatility of active ingredients, controls their release, and protects them against degradation. Their improved bioefficacy helps farmers produce more food with less active ingredients.

“Through our microcapsule technology, we facilitate precision agriculture to enhance food production in an environmentally safe and sustainable manner,” says Jamie Walters, CEO of Calyxia.
The company took roots from Walters’ awareness on of the effects of environmentally damaging industrial activities. Growing up in a family of coal miners in a British mining town, he saw the adverse impact industries can have on the environment and livelihoods. Walters developed then a passion for creating safe, sustainable, and economically viable industries. This led to a career in biotechnology and chemical engineering, culminating in Calyxia's pioneering microcapsule technology created in collaboration with international teams from Harvard University and Paris ESPCI PSL.

The company took roots from Walters’ awareness on of the effects of environmentally damaging industrial activities. Growing up in a family of coal miners in a British mining town, he saw the adverse impact industries can have on the environment and livelihoods. Walters developed then a passion for creating safe, sustainable, and economically viable industries. This led to a career in biotechnology and chemical engineering, culminating in Calyxia's pioneering microcapsule technology created in collaboration with international teams from Harvard University and Paris ESPCI PSL.

The innovative, biodegradable, and bio-based microencapsulation technology boosts crop yield efficiency by utilizing fewer active ingredients, improving the performance-cost ratio, and enhancing supply chain resilience. It is ideal for addressing the urgent need to double crop production by 2050 in response to the global food security challenge stemming from population growth and rising incomes in developing nations.

As production faces threats from over 70,000 weed species, 30,000 fungi types, and 10,000 insect varieties, farmers use crop protection substances like herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and pheromones to thwart pests and diseases. These substances often suffer losses from evaporation and runoff, diminishing efficacy and inducing adverse environmental impact. Calyxia’s microcapsules prove instrumental in protecting crops and promoting high yields, while ensuring safety and sustainability in the agriculture field.

Calyxia collaborates with leading global crop protection companies. Beyond reducing active ingredient use, its pioneering biodegradable alternatives replace microplastic capsules. Its capsules emerge as an innovative solution to address soil health and biodiversity concerns.

Calyxia thrives in France's entrepreneurial ecosystem, harnessing a skilled workforce from its robust education system and benefiting from government support, including initiatives, tax credits, and sustainability project financing for the agriculture sector.

Its team’s extensive business experience and background in leading multinational corporations drive the skills necessary to propel the company to a global expansion. Starting from France, it aims to reach all Europe, the U.S., South America and Asia within a decade.

Embracing a global expansion strategy with an exceptional team, and upholding a dedication to innovation and sustainability, Calyxia emerges as a potent catalyst for agriculture's future. It establishes itself as a go-to partner for crop protection companies and growers by creating jobs, and securing the food chain for future generations while sustainably transforming the industry.