Scaling a pan-European peat-free future

European growers are dependent on peat to grow food, trees and other plants we rely on. However, peat harvests are weather-dependent and in 2025, less than 50% of the usual supply was available causing a supply crisis. Moreover, 13 European countries are bringing peat restrictions and/or bans for using peat to grow plants. However, peat-free alternatives have inadequate performance for professional growers. Here, current options have poor water retention, transplanting outcomes and rely on unstable supply chains for coconut coir.
SilviBio has addressed the above problem(s) through our Propa Media--a peat-free growing substrate made from EU sourced materials. Propa Media has up to 25% reduced watering requirements, improved transplanting outcomes and relys on 100% EU sourced raw materials. Trials with professional growers have validated these improvements. Our underlying formulations and technology are patent pending.
Our project seeks to scale up the production of Propa Media and expand our valorisation activities to capture a wider range of EU sourced raw materials. We envision a circular, localised hub and spoke model of production that enables each EU region to have its own production capability based on its own raw material streams within that region. This decentralised approach not only distributes the positive economic benefits of our work more evenly but also improves food security and resilience to external supply shocks.

We are looking for the below partners:
-engineers and scale up specialists
-raw material suppliers
-side stream or byproduct producers
-professional growers
-importers with understanding UK-EU trade requirements