Project Detail |
eggXYt makes it possible to count your chicken before they hatch - saving the lives of 7 billion layer chicks, saving the industry billions of Euros & adding 7 billion eggs to the global supply.
Each year the Layer Chicken industry sends 14 billion fertile eggs to hatcheries, where they are incubated for 3 weeks & only after they are hatched, are they manually identified as male or female by human chicken sexers. This means that 50% of the eggs, the male chicks – which are useless for both poultry & layer industries – are immediately disposed of, wasting billions of Euros. This is a massive financial & ethical challenge.
eggXYt’s CRISPR based proprietary technology revolutionizes the chicken industry. Using a biomarker on the male chromosome of a chicken embryo, the sex of the chick is detectable once the egg is laid, & more importantly before the chick hatches. Scanning the egg through the shell, eggXYt is saving billions on incubation & manual sexing costs: 7 billion male chicks will be saved from unnecessary incubation & immediate killing, & the male non incubated eggs could be repurposed to be used in the food, animal feed, pharma or cosmetic industries. The eggXYt layers lay ethical “male chick culling free eggs” – in total, eggXYt’s technology creates a €300 billion opportunity.
eggXYt was successful in both scientific & business development, resulting in several global accolades & receiving funding from various sources. SMEi-1 (Grant Agreement 774906) was used for completing the feasibility study for this innovative project & confirming its viability as a significant business opportunity. The next objective is to create a market ready eggXYt version for commercial launch in strategic markets. Successful implementation of this SMEi-2 project should lead to achievement of annual net revenues of €20.5 million by end 2025 & the employment of 20 full-time staff. |