BeeOmetrics and the idea of bees as natural drones

In an interview published as part of the European Innovation Council Coffee Break series, Michael van Cutsem, CEO and founder of Belgian greentech scale-up BeeOdiversity, described BeeOmetrics. The project aims to monitor biodiversity and pollution using wild bees. The approach treats bees as 'natural drones' to collect pollen and other environmental traces that can be analysed to infer local soil and plant biodiversity and detect pollutants.

Team, multidisciplinary strengths and service offering

BeeOdiversity brings together scientists, bioengineers, biologists and data scientists alongside non-scientific profiles. The company says this multidisciplinary mix helps translate raw biomonitoring data into usable indicators and remediation advice. Beyond BeeOmetrics the organisation offers services branded as BeeOexpertise, BeeOmonitoring, BeeOimpact and BeeOlandscaping. These services include biodiversity strategy, pollutant monitoring, ecological audits, nature-based solutions and ecological design for sites in cities, agriculture, industry and real estate.

Funding, recognition and what they mean

Michael van Cutsem told the EIC Community that securing intensive R&D funding was a critical hurdle and that the EIC grant provided both financial support and a credibility boost. BeeOdiversity has also won awards including the Trends Impact Award for Ecology and was selected as a Deep Tech Pioneer by Hello Tomorrow. The company says these accolades raise its visibility and help build partnerships.

Challenges, caveats and the path to operational uptake

Van Cutsem noted structural challenges. These include fast moving regulatory changes, varied client readiness to adopt nature positive tools, and the rapid arrival of competing or complementary technologies. For a small company those dynamics demand agility and continual investment in R&D. Converting environmental indicators into verified remediation pathways and convincing corporates and public bodies to act remain non trivial tasks.

Market and policy context in the EU

Nature based monitoring fits broader EU priorities on biodiversity and pollution control. The Commission and member states are increasing focus on contaminants such as PFAS and on measuring biodiversity outcomes. Innovations that reduce monitoring costs while producing comparable data could help public authorities and industry comply with future regulatory requirements. However the pathway from pilot projects to accepted monitoring standards requires reproducible methods, transparency on data processing and alignment with policy frameworks.

Clients, sectors and practical deployment

BeeOdiversity targets multiple sectors. Agriculture, real estate developers, solar park operators and industrial site managers are named customers because they need parcel level data to make management or remediation decisions. The company says the lower cost per parcel of wild bee monitoring makes it possible to scale to more sites than conventional sampling. That will require operational capacity to deploy and service monitoring stations across many plots and to ensure consistent wild bee activity where needed.

Recognition, governance and founder perspectives

Winning the Trends Impact Award for Ecology and being named a Hello Tomorrow Deep Tech Pioneer were presented as motivating and reputationally valuable. Van Cutsem also reflected on leadership influences and personal practices. He cited Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia and adventurer Mike Horn as inspirations for governance choices and personal courage to pursue meaningful work. On a personal level Van Cutsem said he has reduced business travel, buys fewer clothes and is experimenting with heated clothing as a way to lower home energy use. At company level an internal taskforce is focused on reducing the organisation’s ecological footprint through measures on mobility, meals, recycling and office energy use.

Geography, contacts and next steps

BeeOdiversity develops projects across several European countries, Switzerland and the United States and is headquartered in Brussels. The BeeOmetrics project is described on CORDIS and on the project website. The EIC Community article frames BeeOdiversity as an example of how EIC funding can support nature based innovation but also highlights ongoing challenges in moving from pilots to widespread adoption.

Conclusion and a cautious outlook

BeeOmetrics is an interesting instance of turning ecological behaviour into monitoring data. If the method reliably links pollen and pollinator traces to pollutant loads and biodiversity indicators at parcel scale it could fill a real gap in scalable environmental measurement. For now the approach remains subject to operational constraints, the need for independent validation and the usual hurdles for early stage environmental technologies in securing market traction and regulatory acceptance. The EIC grant and industry recognition de risk some early stages but do not remove these fundamental requirements.