French agro-machinery startup Seederal bags €11M to develop its 160-HP electric tractor

France-based Seederal, an industrial startup in the field of agro-machinery, announced that it has secured €7.1M in a fresh round of funding. The startup also won €3.7M in aid through the France 2030 programme.

The round was led by Supernova Invest, along with support from Ankaa Ventures, Unilis (Unigrains Group), CA Morbihan Expansion, Kima Ventures, and its existing partners Xplore by Épopée Gestion and Breizh Up.

This investment will speed up the development of Seederal’s electric tractor, tailored for farm work.

In a statement translated from French, Antoine Venet, CEO and co-founder of Seederal, says, “The support obtained by the France 2030 programme, the arrival of new investors from reputation and the renewed confidence of our historic investors, are all markers strong in the relevance of our approach.”

“We recently reached a milestone in demonstrating that our first prototype developed the power necessary for the most demanding applications, and this round of funding will allow us to cross the threshold next: confirm the great autonomy of our tractors for field applications.”

Capital utilisation

Seederal has built an initial prototype of a 160-horsepower electric tractor and proven the reliability of its electric traction chain. In 2022, it secured the first funding round with support from Bpifrance, the Region Bretagne, and Crédit Agricole du Finistère, enabling the prototyping of its electric tractor.

Now, after field tests, a new funding round aims to finance ongoing R&D efforts and ramp up recruitment to solidify its position in carbon-free agricultural machinery.

This funding will support the next phase of innovation development, focusing on its chassis-battery system, strengthening its patent portfolio, and launching iterative prototypes, aiming to launch the final model in 2026.

Arthur Rivoal, CTO/CVO co-founder of Seederal, says, “The tractor is central because it mechanises all stages of the cultivation cycle: preparation, sowing, protection, fertilisation, and harvest. It is an energy security tool and eating.”

“Support from financial partners, particularly specialists in the agricultural sector and support from the France 2030 programme demonstrates the importance of providing low-carbon solution at scale, and we are the first to develop bricks techniques to do so.”

Over the next 18 months, the team in Rennes and Brest will see significant expansion. Investors backing the operation are aligned with the vision of decarbonised agriculture.

A solution to address agricultural machinery

Seederal is targeting the key segment of agricultural machinery: medium-power tractors (between 100 and 200 horsepower). According to the company, this segment represents more than half of the tractors sold in Europe due to the versatility of these machines.

According to a statement by Seederal, all agricultural machinery contributes 2 per cent of France’s annual greenhouse gas emissions and consumes 3 per cent of its energy.

Seederal aims to play a crucial role in emission reduction by providing electric tractors, which can cut the carbon footprint by 15 to 20 tonnes per unit annually, which is equivalent to the emissions of 17 cars each year.

Brief about Supernova Invest

Supernova Invest is a European platform investing in deep technology. It manages over €750M and supports 80+ companies in health, energy transition, industry 4.0, and digital tech.

The firm claims to have backed major players in innovation for 20 years, aiming to integrate the deep tech value chain around its portfolio companies. Crédit Agricole Group, Amundi, and CEA support Supernova Invest.

Speaking about the investment in Seederal, Romain Sautrau, Investment Director at Supernova Invest, says, “First investment from our new AgriFoodTech fund launched with Crédit Agricultural, Seederal chose a complete overhaul of the architecture thanks to a design innovative based on an integrated battery chassis, like that adopted by Tesla. A disruptive approach to achieve optimal energy density on the battery system.”