Green Legacy awarded €900K to develop breakthrough soil additive technology, Polysorb+

Green Legacy was awarded €900K funding under EIT Food’s Impact Funding Framework for their project, ‘SPRINT: Sustainable Polymer-based solutions for Resource efficiency and Innovation in Nutrient and water management for high-value Target crops’. The project focuses on boosting water-use efficiency and climate resilience in potatoes by advancing Green Legacy’s breakthrough soil additive technology, Polysorb+. We heard from Enrique Nacif, Co-Founder & Managing Director, about the award and collaboration with Catalyze.

“Our experience with Catalyze has been extremely positive… In short, Catalyze is a true partner in turning our vision into a well-executed, high-impact programme.” — Enrique Nacif, Co-Founder & Managing Director

About Green Legacy

Green Legacy is bringing innovation and environmental awareness together to revolutionise agricultural technology. The company aims to become the leading supplier of soil additives that conserve water, build drought resilience, and protect yields. Their soil health and water retention solutions help farmers and foresters thrive as weather extremes become the norm.

Polysorb+: polymer-based water management for high-value crops

In their EIT Food project, SPRINT, Green Legacy will optimise their current product (Polysorb) to produce Polysorb+, a superabsorbent, biodegradable polymer that enhances water retention and soil conditioning.

As Enrique explains, Polysorb+ can make a significant impact in supporting the agricultural transition:

“With Polysorb+, we will create a solution that will help farmers to buffer drought risk, reduce irrigation by 30–50%, improve nutrient efficiency, stabilise or increase yields, and verifiably reduce the climate and resource footprint of crop production. This is how we see Polysorb+ supporting the long-term transition to a regenerative, water-smart, and data-driven agricultural system.”

Addressing European potato production in SPRINT

With their €900K award from EIT Food, Green Legacy will tailor Polysorb+ for potato crops and directly address a pressing challenge in European potato production: between 2000 and 2023, there was a 36.7% decline in output, equivalent to a 27.9-million-tonne reduction, due to impacts of climate change, such as drought and soil degradation.

Enrique comments on the EIT Food award:

“This funding is a major milestone for Green Legacy. It allows us not only to optimise Polysorb+ for potato production but also to conduct our first full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) within a real agricultural system. We will quantify the environmental impact of Polysorb+ per kilogram of potatoes produced, covering the full cradle-to-farm-gate footprint and integrating the benefits we are validating in large farmer-led trials across Central Europe — including lower irrigation needs, improved nutrient efficiency, and more stable yields.

“The grant also enabled us to strengthen our R&D team with the incorporation of Bianca Beer, a bright scientist with a background in material sciences, biochemistry, and agricultural applications. Together, these advances give us the scientific foundation to demonstrate the true environmental value of Polysorb+ and accelerate our path toward climate-resilient, resource-efficient agriculture.”

Together with project partners, LUT

Joining Green Legacy in the project is Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT), Finland.

“LUT brings the critical capability for conducting a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment of Polysorb that incorporates both the manufacturing footprint of our material and the real agronomic benefits validated in our field trials.” Enrique shares, “This combination of scientific excellence, sustainability expertise, and industry-oriented problem solving makes LUT the perfect partner. Together, we are ensuring that Polysorb+ is not only technically advanced, but also proven to be environmentally beneficial at system level.”

Green Legacy’s long-term vision for Polysorb+

Enrique comments on the long-term vision for Polysorb+: “Our long-term vision for Polysorb+ is to establish it as a new benchmark technology for climate-resilient, resource-efficient agriculture, backed by robust scientific data from both field trials and environmental assessments. Beyond improving water retention and soil conditioning, Polysorb+ is designed to provide system-wide sustainability benefits.

“By combining our agronomic trials across Central Europe with a full LCA, we aim to demonstrate that Polysorb+ enables growers to produce more food with a lower environmental footprint per kilogram of yield.”

Collaborating with Catalyze: EIT Food submission

Catalyze supported Green Legacy in the development of their successful submission to EIT Food’s Impact Funding Framework. Now, post-award, Catalyze is providing project management service to support the successful execution of SPRING.

Enrique comments on the collaboration, “Our experience with Catalyze has been extremely positive. During proposal development, their wonderful team of bright and very dedicated experts helped us articulate not only the technical ambition of Polysorb+ but also the broader environmental and system-level impact, including our first full agricultural LCA. They also were instrumental in assembling the small but strong complementary consortium.

Enrique adds, “Special thanks go our Catalyze consultants, whose insight, professionalism, and commitment were instrumental in shaping a successful proposal. They challenged us with the right questions and supported us in framing the combination of field evidence and sustainability assessment that makes SPRINT so compelling. Their understanding of complex innovation projects and EU impact frameworks was essential in preparing a proposal that is both scientifically robust and strategically aligned.”

Collaborating with Catalyze: Project Management for SPRINT

Now, Catalyze and Green Legacy continue the collaboration through project management for SPRINT.

“In the project management phase, Catalyze continues to add significant value through structured coordination. Their support gives our team the freedom to focus on research, field trials, and data generation, knowing that compliance, reporting, and partner coordination are in expert hands.

Enrique finishes, “In short, Catalyze is a true partner in turning our vision into a well-executed, high-impact programme.”

Visit Green Legacy’s website