Nanovel Raises €2.5M for Robotic Citrus Harvesters

Israeli agtech innovator Nanovel has secured a significant €2.5 million ($2.9 million) grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program. This funding propels the company's mission to revolutionize citrus harvesting with sophisticated robotic solutions, addressing critical labor shortages and escalating operational costs within the global fruit industry.

The challenge of automating citrus picking is immense, primarily due to the fruit's often concealed position deep within dense foliage. Unlike simpler robotic tasks, harvesting requires intricate 3D perception to distinguish fruit from leaves and branches, precise navigation through complex canopies, and delicate manipulation to detach fruit without damage. Nanovel, founded in 2018, has dedicated years to developing a proprietary autonomous harvesting system featuring advanced robotic arms. These arms are engineered to reach into the heart of citrus trees, employ vacuum grippers for secure fruit handling, and precisely sever stems within 2mm of the fruit before transferring them to collection bins.

The current iteration of Nanovel's technology utilizes six synchronized telescopic arms, managed by an AI-powered onboard computer. This system employs computer vision to map the tree's structure, intelligently assign fruit targets to individual arms, and prevent collisions. A remote management platform oversees a fleet of these autonomous harvesters. While the vision system can identify fruit based on color and size, potentially filtering out produce that wouldn't meet packing house standards, it does not yet perform defect detection. Following successful trials of a tractor-pulled prototype with a major California grower and the Citrus Research Board last fall, the company is now focused on developing a fully self-driving model.

The economic imperative for such technology is substantial. Manual labor can represent up to 50% of production expenses in citrus farming, a sector heavily reliant on seasonal workers. Isaac Mazor, CEO of Nanovel, highlights the logistical and cost burdens associated with labor-intensive harvesting, particularly in regions with labor sensitivities or long supply chains. He estimates that Nanovel's technology could reduce harvesting costs from approximately $42–43 per 900-lb field bin to $25–30, offering a compelling return on investment. Beyond direct cost savings, the robots promise enhanced predictability, allowing growers to schedule harvests with confidence, independent of fluctuating labor availability. The machines can also operate for extended periods and recover quickly after adverse weather events.

Nanovel envisions its robotic harvesters as productivity enhancers rather than complete labor replacements. The goal is to augment human operators, enabling them to achieve three to four times their current output. An operator would oversee a small fleet, managing bin exchanges, clearing minor obstructions, and guiding the robots to the next picking zones. This collaborative approach allows the robots to efficiently gather the majority of accessible fruit, while human operators focus on the more challenging 10-15% of fruit that is difficult to reach. The company anticipates a training period of less than a day for operators.

Looking ahead, Nanovel plans to offer its machines for outright purchase, with an estimated price point of around $400,000 per unit, projecting a payback period of under five years. This ownership model is deemed suitable for large-scale citrus operations that can utilize the equipment for a significant portion of the year. Future revenue streams may also emerge from the rich data collected during harvesting, enabling the creation of high-resolution orchard maps detailing fruit characteristics and agronomic inputs, offering valuable insights for crop management. Pilot deployments are slated for southern Europe in 2027, with commercial availability targeted for 2029.