Plant-e and the EIC Accelerator: Sensors Powered by Living Plants

Plants push organic matter out through their roots, bacteria in the soil break it down, and in doing so they release electrons. Plant-e, a Dutch company built on research from Wageningen University, captures those electrons with electrodes in the soil and turns them into a small, continuous current, day and night. It is far too little to power a house, but enough for a sensor or a low-light lamp without batteries or cables.

The European Innovation Council granted €2,499,437.50 towards a €3.57 million project to turn the technology into products for the Internet of Things. The result is a line of SensorSticks, plant-powered sensors that measure water levels, soil moisture and water quality and send data by satellite. Nature agencies in the UK and Ireland are among the first users. Plant-e remains a ten-person company, and its sales are not public.

Where Plant-e Stands Today

Plant-e's recent announcements are about peatland and water management. In September 2025 it reported that its SensorSticks had been sending satellite-transmitted water-table data since August 2025 from two Natural England restoration sites, Bolton Fell Moss and Wedholme Flow. Other announcements covered Cairngorms National Park, Liffey Head Bog in Ireland, the North Pennines and, in January 2026, an installation with Fermanagh & Omagh District Council in Northern Ireland, according to its news page. A demonstration project with DHI, funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency across the Cairngorms, the Natural England sites and Liffey Head Bog, was completed on 31 December 2025. Most announcements do not say how many sensors were installed.

The Technology: A Plant-Microbial Fuel Cell

The system is a plant-microbial fuel cell. Electrodes in wet soil around living plants collect electrons released as bacteria digest organic matter from the roots; the company says the process runs around the clock, and that the materials last 50 to 100 years. Because the power is tiny, the products are built around very low consumption: sensors that wake, measure and transmit, and lamps for low-level lighting. The CORDIS report calls it "the only known carbon-negative energy technology in the world", a company claim.

What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows

The project ran from February 2022 to September 2024. The CORDIS report describes two product lines, nature-inclusive lighting and remote sensing of water level, temperature and soil moisture with satellite connectivity. It says the first 100 water-level sensing units had been assembled, that installations switched from horizontal to vertical for more stable power through the year, and that "first commercial projects are ready to start", with a follow-on project on water quality from early 2025.

1. Plant-powered IoT productsDeliveredThree SensorStick products on sale.
2. Reliable power through the yearImprovedVertical design for more stable output, per CORDIS.
3. Commercial rolloutEarlyFirst 100 units, a series of site deployments; no sales data.

What Has Happened Since the Award

In November 2024 Plant-e announced that the Unified Patent Court in The Hague had ruled that the Spanish company Bioo infringed its patents, originally filed by Wageningen University & Research, and ordered Bioo to stop selling the infringing products in six countries and to pay damages. The company described it as the first substantive judgment of the new court.

The Money

We found no announced private funding round for Plant-e. The EIC grant was "grant first", under which any EIC equity is decided later, and we found no EIC Fund investment. Small Dutch companies file only abridged accounts, so revenue and profit are not public.

Why Europe Should Care

Europe is restoring peatlands and wetlands to store carbon and water, and each site needs long-term monitoring in places without power. Battery-free sensors that feed on the ecosystem they measure fit that need neatly, and the technology came out of a Dutch university.

The Verdict

Plant-e has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records, company statements and EU project data, linked throughout.