Egg-Tech Prize Phase II Finalists
Leonard van Bommel
Systems Engineer, In Ovo
Year Awarded 2023
Total award amount $495,990 for Project Ella®
Location Leiden, The Netherlands
Program Egg-Tech Prize
Matching Funders Open Philanthropy
Grantee Institution In Ovo
In Ovo is a Dutch company that develops high-tech solutions to improve animal welfare and sustainability in the poultry sector. In Ovo’s Systems Engineer, Leonard van Bommel, is further developing and scaling In Ovo’s pioneering in-ovo sexing technology called Ella®. Ella measures a naturally occurring biomarker in the embryo’s allantoic fluid, or “waste bag” in the egg. The concentration of this biomarker differs between the sexes, allowing Ella to sort the eggs by sex with high accuracy on the ninth day of development, instantly stop the incubation of male eggs and leave the eggs intact for processing in other capacities. The Egg-Tech Prize is allowing In Ovo to increase Ella’s accuracy, capacity and ability to sort eggs earlier to offer a solution to end male chick culling worldwide. Learn more about Ella from an egg’s perspective.
Year Awarded 2023
Total award amount $499,331 for High-Throughput In-Ovo Sexing of Chicken Eggs Using Hyperspectral Imaging & Raman Spectroscopy
Location De Klomp, The Netherlands
Program Egg-Tech Prize
Matching Funders Open Philanthropy
Grantee Institution University of Georgia Board of Trustees
HatchTech B.V. is a Dutch technology company serving global food producers. Its Research Manager, Dr. Carla van der Pol, is using hyperspectral imaging and Raman spectroscopy to develop a commercially applicable optical technique for in-ovo sexing. Van der Pol’s team (including experts from Wageningen University and Research, Adaptation Physiology Group) is extracting small droplets of the embryos’ allantoic fluid from the egg at the eighth day of incubation using existing fluid uptake machinery and analyzing it through spectral technologies. The light’s wavelength patterns reveal whether the developing chick is male or female. Eggs containing a male embryo are then removed from the incubation process and can be used in other ways, while female embryos are returned to the incubator until hatch. This process is harmless, safe, pain free for the embryos, and it does not require consumables or long waiting times for the eggs between measurements and egg sorting.
Year Awarded 2023
Total award amount $499,331 for High-Throughput In-Ovo Sexing of Chicken Eggs Using Hyperspectral Imaging & Raman Spectroscopy
Location Davis, CA
Program Egg-Tech Prize
Matching Funders Open Philanthropy
Grantee Institution SensIT Ventures, Inc.
SensIT is a California-based chemical sensor technology company founded by Thomas Turpen. The only Phase II Prize finalist who was also a Phase I finalist, Turpen is continuing development of SensIT’s innovative microchip-based chemical sensor that captures volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from individual eggs as early as eight days into incubation. Machine learning can interpret the VOCs to classify eggs by sex. This additional Prize funding is supporting the integration of the microchip sensors with a custom automated egg handling machine that sorts the sexed eggs using an inexpensive, non-invasive, automated, high-throughput method. The researchers also propose to test this technology at commercial hatcheries.
Over 6 Billion Male Layer Chicks Are Culled Annually When Hatched Because There Is No Commercial Use for Them
Several billion female layer chicks, those that become hens, are hatched each year to supply the world’s eggs. A similar number of male chicks are also produced but never make it to market. The male chicks cannot lay eggs, and their poor growth and meat quality make them unsuitable for consumption. As there is no need for male chicks, they are culled once hatched. Male chick culling is a major animal welfare challenge and creates lost-opportunity costs for farmers.
FFAR launched the Egg-Tech Prize research initiative with Open Philanthropy to develop technology that determines an egg’s sex before it hatches.
I’ve been extremely impressed with the rapid progress of innovation in this competition and with the quality of the three finalists’ technology. We’re already seeing the adoption of in-ovo sexing technology in Europe, and I’m optimistic that these finalists’ innovations will enable the U.S. egg industry to soon follow suit.
Lewis Bollard
Open Philanthropy's program officer for farm animal welfare
Why This Research Is Important
If egg hatcheries had technology that determined the egg’s sex on the day it is laid, over 6 billion male eggs could be used annually for food, animal feed or vaccine production. Additionally, eggs are incubated for 21 days before they hatch. This technology could vastly reduce the cost and carbon footprint of incubating layer eggs, while freeing up space for the incubation of female eggs – increasing the efficiency of production.
This Prize is on the cusp of profoundly revolutionizing global egg production. The success of one of these technologies will boost profitability, improve animal welfare and increase the sustainability of our egg supply chains.
Jasmine Bruno, Ph.D.
Scientific Program Director
Cultivating Thriving Production Systems
More About the Egg-Tech Prize
The Egg-Tech Prize is a $6 million competition to accurately and rapidly determine a chick’s sex before it hatches. In 2019, six winners were awarded a total of $2,113,915 in Phase I of the Egg-Tech Prize to investigate and develop novel, primarily non-invasive approaches to solving the egg-sexing challenge. In Phase II of the Egg-Tech Prize, three finalists have been selected to receive a total of $1,490,276 to advance their research over 12 months. At that time, the Egg-Tech Steering Committee will evaluate their progress to determine a final Prize winner. FFAR and Open Philanthropy reserve the right not to award a winner, if no finalist meets the Prize requirements.
How This Research Contributes to Our Mission
This research improves animal health and welfare and pioneers practices that sustain our food system.
Matching Funders
Open Philanthropy identifies outstanding giving opportunities, makes grants, follows the results, and publishes its findings. Its mission is to give as effectively as it can and share its findings openly so that anyone can build on its work. Through research and grantmaking, it hopes to learn how to make philanthropy go especially far in terms of improving lives.
U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) is the All Feather Association progressively serving its poultry and egg members through research, education, communications and technical services. Founded in 1947, USPOULTRY is based in Tucker, Georgia.
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