Polyfly and the EIC Accelerator: Hoverflies as Farm Pollinators

Polyfly, founded in Almería in 2017, breeds two species of hoverfly, which it sells as GOLDFLY for hot, sunny climates and QUEENFLY for cooler ones, to pollinate vegetables, fruit and seed crops, especially under greenhouses and nets where wild pollinators cannot reach. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's January 2023 cut-off for blended finance and received an EU grant of €1.26 million for HoverPollination, a €1.80 million project that ran from June 2023 to May 2025, according to CORDIS. The company says these hoverflies "have never been commercially available as a managed pollination solution until now".

The project is closed. Its final report states that Polyfly scaled rearing to industrial level, mechanised pupae sorting and packing, won ISO 9001:2015 certification, developed ready-to-use pollination protocols, ran demonstration trials in key crops and assessed the environmental impact of releasing its flies in open fields as "negligible", according to the CORDIS reporting page. Its annual turnover is below €500,000, according to the Spanish business register data summarised by Empresia, whose latest filed accounts are for 2024.

Where Polyfly Stands Now

Polyfly has moved from a pilot plant to what it calls the first industrial facility dedicated to mass-rearing hoverflies, in Huércal-Overa, with a potential capacity of more than a billion flies a year, according to Hortidaily. The company says it sells on four continents and more abroad than in Spain, but "preferimos no aventurar porcentajes concretos". The plant is "currently in its production scale-up phase". A capital increase of €22,223 was registered in March 2026.

The Technology: Farming the Flies

The final report says bee declines, climate change and protected cropping all limit pollination, and that some crops are poorly suited to honeybees and bumblebees. Hoverflies visit flowers constantly for pollen and nectar. Polyfly's advance is breeding them continuously and uniformly at scale; the company told Hortidaily this was "the real bottleneck" for making the activity commercially viable. It sees demand in high-value crops such as avocado and berries.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The award promised hoverflies as a new class of managed pollinators for better crop yields. The project delivered industrial rearing, certified quality control, pollination protocols and field demonstrations. The report does not quantify the yield gains in its demonstration trials, and the company's revenue remained small by the end of 2024.

1. Industrial rearingDeliveredAutomated lines; ISO 9001.
2. Pollination protocolsDeliveredReady to use.
3. Field demonstrationsDeliveredYield gains not quantified.
4. Commercial scaleUnverifiedTurnover under €500k.

The Money

Polyfly received a €174,516 grant from the Andalusian innovation agency IDEA, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, for a €954,200 R&D centre, according to Agencia IDEA. Its private investors and whether the EIC Fund invested are not public.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Polyfly cites the figure that about 75% of the world's food crops benefit from animal pollination. A reliable alternative to bees for greenhouses and hot climates would matter for European growers. The company has built the production base with EU help; it now needs the sales to fill it.

The Verdict

Polyfly and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.