eggXYt (873460)

  https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/873460

  Horizon 2020 (2014-2020)

  A novel approach for sexing chicken embryos on day one before incubation - saving them from being hatched and disposed of.

  SME instrument (EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020)

  employment  ·  chromosomes  ·  embryology  ·  animal feed

  2019-10-01 Start Date (YY-MM-DD)

  2022-03-31 End Date (YY-MM-DD)

  € 3,327,500 Total Cost

  Description

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.

  Complicit Organisations

1 Israeli organisation participates in eggXYt.