Genomines, a French startup that has developed a method to “farm” nickel using plants, has raised a $45m Series A.
The round, which comprises $37m in equity funding and $8m in debt, was led by US-based VC Engine Ventures and Forbion BioEconomy, a European growth investor focusing on biotech.
It included participation from climate investors Deeptech & Climate Fonds, Wind Capital and Lowercarbon Capital, as well as Swiss investor AlphaTech Investment Group and US accelerator Entrepreneurs First. Carmaker Hyundai and Prospect Innovation, a company that backs startups in the mining industry, also participated.
Genomines develops genetically-enhanced plants capable of absorbing and concentrating nickel from the soil. The company says this enables extraction even from land where the metal is not concentrated enough for traditional mining, and has the potential to rebalance global supply chains.
Plant-based nickel
Nickel is widely used to make stainless steel, and is also becoming increasingly strategic for carmakers because it is an essential component of batteries.
The base metal is typically mined from highly concentrated deposits located hundreds of meters into the ground, meaning extraction requires large-scale industrial infrastructure that is very harmful for the environment.
It also means nations around the world rely on a small number of countries for nickel supplies: deposits can be found only in specific locations, with Indonesia alone currently accounting for over half of global nickel production.
Genomines’ technology enables the extraction of nickel from deposits much closer to the surface, which are not concentrated enough to mine traditionally. The company uses plants that naturally soak up metal from their roots and store it at high concentrations in their tissues. To boost the plants’ capacity, Genomines increases their height and the size of their leaves, and has also developed a specific soil to enhance nickel absorption.
Cofounder Fabien Koutchekian estimates there are currently 30m-40m hectares of deposits that can be exploited with the technology worldwide, and that once scaled up the technology could boost annual production of nickel between 7 and 14-fold.
The method is also more environmentally-friendly and cost-efficient. “When you create a mine, it can easily cost billions of dollars, and it’ll be 12-15 years before you produce a single gram of metal,” says Koutchekian.
“We think we can be economically viable on a 200-hectare surface… In the end what we are doing is agriculture with a very simple extraction process.”
Ramping up production
Genomines is currently developing the technology on experimental land in South Africa, but so far has only produced a few hundred kilograms of nickel. It plans to use the new funds raised to ramp up production and reach a few hundred tonnes of metal in the coming years, says Koutchekian.
The startup works in partnership with several automakers including Hyundai and Jaguar Land Rover, who need to secure nickel for their own suppliers. “We have small amounts of revenue for now,” says Koutchekian. “We’re still very far from mining giants who are making billions.”
“In the next 3-5 years we hope to be generating several million dollars in revenues.”
The main challenge, he says, will be to sell the product at market price or lower, and to secure the large volumes needed by industrial players.
The startup is entering a growing field, in which several other companies are developing a similar technology. In 2023, for instance, French startup Econick entered a joint venture with stainless steel giant Aperam to develop the production of plant-based nickel.
“In the end though, the biggest competition we face is the traditional mining industry,” says Koutchekian. “We’re not particularly innovative on products — in fact our product is exactly the same. We’re only innovating on extraction.”
