It was a beetle drinking through its butt that first brought Danish scientists Eva Maria Rebrova and Kenneth Veland Halberg together.
Rebrova, a protein scientist, had patented a new technology that she believed could form the basis of a new class of pesticide capable of eliminating insect pests while limiting harm to humans and biodiversity. What she still needed, however, was an expert in the biology of the pests she wanted to target.
She came across Halberg after his research into how beetles absorb water through their rectums was picked up by international news outlets.
“It’s fascinating. I look at beetles differently now,” she says.
The pair already worked in the same building, although they had never met, and quickly struck up a partnership. Soon afterwards, they launched Yngvi Bio, an early-stage start-up with a technology Halberg believes could deliver a “paradigm shift” in the way farmers control insect pests.
A biological ‘rocket’ for targeted pest control
AgNavigator: What actually is the technology? What does it do?
Eva Maria Rebrova: We are using something that already exists in nature: bacteria that live in the soil and produce these systems to fight off other bacteria or insects. These are protein containers that can deliver a biopesticide to a specific insect. You can put different pesticides inside and direct them towards a specific species.
Kenneth Veland Halberg: If you imagine a Tintin rocket, you have the body of the rocket and the legs. The legs provide the specificity. They unfold to bind to the surface of a cell inside the insect and then deploy their cargo.
The flexibility of the technology is that we can change those legs and put different things inside that rocket. That has huge potential for solving many of the things we’ve been struggling with for a long time.
AgNavigator: Such as?
KVH: The specificity. What we’re still doing with legacy chemistry is using widespread neurotoxins. Those neurotoxins can also affect humans. They pollute our drinking water and the environment more generally.
We want to find something that works specifically against the animals we want to target and is safe for humans and the environment. That’s what this technology promises to do.
EMR: There’s also the resistance aspect. It is much more difficult for insects to develop resistance to this, and we can also react much faster if they do. That gives farmers and seed producers more tools to protect the crops they’re putting out there.
First target: 15,000 species of white grub
AgNavigator: What level of specificity are you aiming for? How many types of insect would one version target?
KVH: Our first product is designed against the white grub complex. These are beetle larvae that live underground and feed on the roots of plants, particularly grass.
We’re talking about probably 15,000 species within the white grub complex. That’s the kind of level we’re looking at targeting.
AgNavigator: You’re initially working on grassland systems rather than row crops?
EMR: Our first prototype is, yes. We’re going into New Zealand first because the technology comes from New Zealand, which means the authorities look more favourably on it.
We also have an industry partner that has 80% market share in New Zealand, so they’re very interested because they’re running out of chemicals. The two main chemicals used against these grubs are being banned by 2028, so they currently have no alternatives.
KVH: Row crops are the ultimate goal, but we need to work on our cost of goods before we can compete with solutions for row crops. That’s the journey we’re on.
Ultimately, we envision a one-stop shop where we can target any pest, for any crop.
New Zealand field trials next
AgNavigator: Have you run trials? What stage are you at and what results do you have?
EMR: We have dozens of prototypes in the lab showing promising efficacy. We’ve also conducted a small Danish trial to show that our seed treatment is compatible with our partner’s seed.
Now we’re planning a three-year field trial in New Zealand, starting in the spring.
AgNavigator: When are you aiming to enter the market in New Zealand?
KVH: Right now, it looks like Q1 2029.
Can pesticide restrictions accelerate adoption?
AgNavigator: Do you think one of the primary drivers of your growth will be regulatory crackdowns on other crop-protection products?
KVH: Not necessarily. This product has to come in and compete on equal terms with existing chemical solutions. It’s simply a very nice benefit that, in many places around the globe, at least in the Western world, those chemical tools are being banned.
AgNavigator: Does Yngvi Bio still face questions over securing regulatory approval in different markets?
EMR: Yes, especially in Europe. It’s always an issue of how long it takes for new products to be approved. Right now, I think it’s between six and eight years.
AgNavigator: Is that because this is such a new technology for crop protection? Are there any equivalent products already approved?
EMR: I think we could potentially open up a new class of pesticide. That’s very attractive because we could provide a third class that farmers could use to complement existing treatments.
Partnering with established crop-protection companies
AgNavigator: Would your route to market be through existing large crop-protection companies?
KVH: That’s our current strategy. Given our size, piggybacking on larger companies that already have established sales and marketing operations is simply the realistic route.
AgNavigator: How big could this ultimately become?
KVH: If the technology really holds up and delivers on its promise in the way we think it will, there are no limits. This could be something that causes a paradigm shift in the way we deal with insects in agriculture.
We need to build it slowly, but that’s the ambition.
Beyond insects?
AgNavigator: And could the technology ultimately be used beyond insect pests?
EMR: Yes. In principle, it’s the holy grail of biomedicine. It could potentially address insect pests, bacterial pests and fungal pests, but also diseases in humans. There is competing technology similar to ours that is moving in that direction.
