How the drones of a Berlin start-up are supposed to prevent the forest from dying
The seeds carried by the Skyseed drone can be spread over forest terrain in metered portions
Quelle: Skyseed
Drought and fire destroy forests. The Berlin start-up Skyseed wants to reforest them from the air using a drone. However, the customers do not rent or buy the aircraft, but pay for a specific service.
VRoughly two years ago, Australia was hit by devastating bush fires. Fires raged across the country, particularly on the east coast. The fires covered more than 24 million hectares.
Destroyed landscapes remained, which are now to be reforested. Various funding programs work with seed drones to revive burnt areas with seeds from eucalyptus trees, for example.
The Berlin start-up Skyseed is pursuing a similar concept. Because Germany also has a drought problem: According to a study by the German Aerospace Association, between 2018 and 2021 alone, 501,000 hectares of forest were destroyed due to the persistent drought. That’s the equivalent of more than 700,000 soccer fields.
“It definitely cannot go on like this,” says Ole Seidenberg in an interview with “Gründerszene”. He is one of the three founders of the Berlin start-up that wants to use drones to reforest fallow forest areas in this country.
Unlike the small film drones that holidaymakers use in particular, the start-up’s flight vehicle is twice as big and carries a transparent box underneath it. It contains seeds that can be flown over forest terrain in dosed portions.
A drone pilot controls the device via a mini-computer. Either manually or by command: The software specifies, for example, how high and far the drone can fly and which route it should fly. In larger forest areas, the pilot can also specify the coordinates from which the aircraft should automatically start the return flight.
25,000 euros cost per Skyseed drone
The whole thing is not cheap at 25,000 euros per drone. One alone costs around 15,000 euros to purchase, according to Seidenberg. The upgrade with additional batteries, tripods, the seed container and Co. another 10,000 euros. The start-up does not build the drones itself, but buys them from third parties and equips them with its own software.
Two drones are currently in use. With these, Skyseed has seeded several hectares of land since it was founded in early 2021 – and generated initial money. Most recently, they paid a forestry office near Freiburg and a private forest owner in the Sauerland.
Customers don’t rent the drones, they pay for the service. Most recently, there was a forestry office near Freiburg and a private forest owner in the Sauerland, says the founder.
As a rule, a reforested hectare costs between 2000 and 6000 euros. The price includes, among other things, advice, during which employees of the start-up look at the forest on site and decide together with the customer which seeds would be suitable for the development of a mixed forest.
Skyseed orders the seeds from a distributor. The costs per hectare vary so greatly because the prices for agricultural commodities such as seeds are currently subject to enormous fluctuations, says Seidenberg.
The team behind Skyseed (from left): Denise Sengül, Joachim Grund, Raphael Müller, Johannes Miczajka, Katrin Staab, Markus Patas, Simon Wind, Ole Seidenberg
Quelle: Skyseed
With the help of the Skyseed drones, reforestation should be easier and faster. As a rule, the seedlings are put into the ground by hand, usually hundreds of them. The plants are grown in tree nurseries and often do not survive due to unfamiliar conditions such as lack of water in the forest.
However, the flying machines can fill large areas with seeds in a short time – and can adapt to the terrain right from the start. On top of that, they would minimize the risk of accidents, since dangerous forest areas such as steep slopes are difficult for people to access, according to Seidenberg.
Even the traffic light government expresses in the current coalition agreement that it wants to promote seed drones. It is still unclear whether the federal government will actually initiate the measures.
Business angels invest 600,000 euros in Skyseed
In addition to the drone business, Skyseed has developed its own palletization for the seeds, which according to its own statements consists only of organic materials – and does not use harmful plastic. This type of shell encases each individual seed and protects against insects and birds that would otherwise eat the millimeter-sized seeds.
The layer should also store more water and better protect the individual seeds from frost, explains Seidenberg. When the seed finally begins to germinate in spring, the casing swells and is composted.
The idea for Skyseed came from Seidenberg and the two brothers Dominik Wind and Simon Wind. Since it was founded a year ago, the trio has collected 600,000 euros from business angels. The founders employ eight people.
The three previously worked for an agency that advises medium-sized companies and corporations in the area of sustainability. But at some point their suggestions fell on deaf ears and they started their own project with their drone company.