VITALFLUID BV

Their core work

VitalFluid develops plasma-activated water (PAW) technology that uses electrical plasma discharge to fix atmospheric nitrogen directly into water, producing a liquid nitrogen fertilizer that can replace or reduce conventional synthetic fertilizers in agriculture. Their core product is a system — hardware and process — that generates nitrogen-enriched PAW on-site, offering growers a sustainable, chemical-free plant feeding solution. Based in Eindhoven, they combine plasma physics with precision agriculture, positioning themselves at the intersection of physics and food production. Their EU-funded trajectory (SME Instrument Phase 1 then Phase 2) confirms they moved from concept validation to commercial-scale development within roughly three years.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

VitalFluid's H2020 record spans only 2018–2021, both projects covering the same technology — plasma-activated water for plant nutrition — so there is no observable thematic shift between early and recent work. What the timeline does reveal is a deliberate scale-up trajectory: Phase 1 (€50k, 2018–2019) was a feasibility and business case study, while Phase 2 (€1.4M, 2019–2021) was full innovation development and market preparation. Their evolution is not a change in direction but a deepening commitment to a single focused technology.

VitalFluid is on a focused commercialization path for plasma-activated water technology; any future collaboration would likely involve scaling manufacturing, entering new agricultural markets, or integrating PAW into broader agri-tech or water treatment systems.

How they like to work

VitalFluid has led both of its H2020 projects as sole coordinator, which is characteristic of SME Instrument grants — these are deliberately designed for individual companies driving their own innovation. They have no recorded consortium partners in the H2020 data, meaning their EU-funded work has been entirely self-directed rather than collaborative. For future partnerships, they are most likely to engage as a technology provider or spin-in partner within a larger consortium, rather than a habitual consortium co-builder.

VitalFluid has no recorded H2020 consortium partners — both projects were solo SME Instrument grants, which require no formal partner network. Their collaborative footprint in EU-funded research is therefore very limited, though their Eindhoven base places them near the High Tech Campus ecosystem.

What sets them apart

VitalFluid occupies a rare niche combining plasma physics — typically an industrial or semiconductor domain — with precision agriculture, specifically nitrogen delivery to plants. Very few SMEs globally have taken non-thermal plasma technology this far toward a packaged agricultural product, and their successful EIC SME Instrument Phase 2 award (highly competitive, sub-5% acceptance rate) is a strong signal of technical credibility. For a consortium needing expertise in electro-chemical water treatment, sustainable fertilization, or plasma-based processes in an agricultural context, VitalFluid has no obvious direct EU-funded competitor in the H2020 dataset.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Plan2fix (Phase 2)
  Awarded €1.42M under the prestigious and highly competitive SME Instrument Phase 2, confirming both the commercial viability and technical maturity of their plasma-activated water fertilizer system.
• Plan2fix (Phase 1)
  Successful Phase 1 feasibility grant (2018–2019) that directly unlocked the Phase 2 development award — a rare sequential SME Instrument progression demonstrating execution discipline.