ICL, Tel Aviv, on Sept. 1 announced the launch of eqo.x release technology to provide a controlled release fertilizer (CRF) coating for urea. ICL said the coating rapidly biodegrades and was specifically designed to meet future European fertilizer standards set to go into effect in 2026.
ICL said this achievement is a key tool of both the European Farm to Fork strategy and the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, which aim to reduce nutrient loss by at least 50% by 2030.
The new technology will be applied to ICL’s CRF products for agricultural crops, including its Agromaster and Agrocote brands.
“ICL is proud to introduce our most advanced CRF coating, eqo.x rapidly biodegrading release technology, which will both help regulate the release of nutrients on a daily basis – by responding to each crops’ specific needs – and result in higher nutrient use efficiency,” said Elad Aharonson, President of Innovative Ag Solutions for ICL.
“Our innovative, sustainable, new technology will provide precision nutrition through a coating, which biodegrades more rapidly, and helps improve yield, reduce nutrient loss and simplify fertilizer application. Not only will this benefit farmers, it will also help the environment, as it will greatly reduce the leaching of nutrients into both the soil and groundwater, when compared to conventional fertilizers,” he added.
ICL expects to have this coating ready for farmers in the European Union by 2023 and, in order to meet expected market demand, is investing $20 million in a new production line for eqo.x release technology at its Heerlen facility in the Netherlands. Citing Fortune Business Insights, ICL said the global controlled release fertilizer market size was $2.3 billion in 2018 and projected to reach $3.86 billion by 2026, resulting in a CAGR of 6.37% during the forecast period.