AGROINDUSTRIAL KIMITEC SL

Their core work

Kimitec is a Spanish agroindustrial SME based in Almería — one of Europe's most intensive greenhouse farming regions — specializing in biological and bio-based crop inputs that replace synthetic chemicals. Their core work involves developing biopesticides from plant-derived compounds and industrial organic residues, and producing biostimulants (including algae-based products) that enhance crop performance while reducing synthetic inputs. They also work on recovering agricultural and industrial wastewater nutrients to create circular value streams. In practice, they sit at the intersection of agri-biotech, circular economy, and sustainable crop production.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 engagement (BLOSTER, 2015-2017), Kimitec's focus was narrow and product-oriented: developing biopesticides from endemic Spanish plants and organic industrial by-products — essentially biological crop protection from locally sourced raw materials. By their second project (Water2REturn, 2017-2022), the scope had expanded significantly toward biostimulants, algae cultivation, and circular water/nutrient systems, reflecting a broader shift from pest control toward full-spectrum bio-based crop inputs. The trajectory is clear: from a single-product biopesticide developer toward a company covering the wider biological agriculture inputs market, with circular economy logic threading through their R&D pipeline.

Kimitec is moving toward a full bio-input portfolio — combining biopesticides, biostimulants, and algae products within circular production systems — making them an interesting partner for projects targeting sustainable agriculture, biobased value chains, or nutrient recovery from organic waste streams.

How they like to work

Kimitec has shown both leading and following roles: they coordinated BLOSTER independently (SME Instrument Phase 2, a highly competitive solo-company instrument) and joined the larger Water2REturn consortium as a participant. This split suggests a company comfortable driving its own innovation agenda while also integrating into multi-partner research projects when the application fits their product roadmap. With 15 partners across 9 countries from just 2 projects, their consortium exposure is relatively broad for their size.

Kimitec has built a network of 15 unique partners across 9 countries through just 2 projects, which reflects a notably diverse international footprint for a small Spanish SME. Their geographic spread covers multiple EU member states, consistent with the cross-border composition typical of Horizon 2020 consortia in environment and agri-biotech.

What sets them apart

Kimitec operates from Almería — Europe's greenhouse capital — giving them direct, ground-level access to one of the world's most intensive and innovation-hungry agricultural production systems. Unlike academic research groups, they are a commercial company that needs results to reach the market, which means their R&D is tightly coupled to real product development and regulatory pathways for bio-inputs. Their ability to lead an SME Instrument Phase 2 project (the most competitive H2020 SME grant) signals genuine innovation capacity, not just participation for funding.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BLOSTER
  Led as sole SME coordinator under the highly selective SME Instrument Phase 2 scheme (€1.28M), demonstrating independent innovation leadership in biopesticide development from endemic plants and industrial residues.
• Water2REturn
  Long-duration Innovation Action (2017-2022) focused on closing the nutrient loop in wastewater — Kimitec's participation signals their pivot toward biostimulants and algae as commercial product lines within circular systems.