3Bee and the EIC Accelerator: Putting a Number on Biodiversity
3Bee, founded in 2017 by Niccolò Calandri and Riccardo Balzaretti and based in Milan, started with sensors that monitor beehives and now sells companies programmes to plant and monitor "biodiversity oases", using pollinators as indicators of environmental health. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's June 2023 cut-off with a "grant first" award and received an EU grant of €2.25 million for a €3.22 million project from January 2024 to December 2025 to build "a clear, scalable and scientific framework to measure terrestrial biodiversity", according to CORDIS.
The only public report, for 2024, says 3Bee built FLORA, a platform that combines Sentinel-2 satellite images, sensors and AI, and the Element-E protocol, "certified by Bureau Veritas and applied across 31 sites covering 10,910 hectares", according to the CORDIS reporting page. Its neural networks classified land cover with "an accuracy of 60-70%" and tree species with "28-65%". The report says 3Bee took part in drafting a reference practice for biodiversity credits with the Italian standards body UNI; UNI announced that work in June 2024, according to UNI, and it was published as UNI/PdR 179:2025, according to 3Bee.
Company file
- Legal entity
- 3Bee Srl, Milan; 3Bee GmbH, Berlin
- Founders
- Niccolò Calandri, Riccardo Balzaretti
- Technologies
- FLORA, Spectrum, Hive-Tech, Polly X
- Investors
- GROW, Anya Capital, European Space Agency
- Standard
- UNI/PdR 179:2025, biodiversity credits
- Earlier EIC project
- HIVE-TECH, EIC SME Instrument Phase 2 (Horizon 2020), 1 Aug 2019 to 31 Jul 2021, €0.99M grant
- EIC funding
- Grant first
Where 3Bee Stands Now
3Bee says more than 1,000 companies take part in its programmes, that it has planted more than 50,000 nectar-producing trees in 18 Italian regions, created over 200 biodiversity oases and runs more than 4,000 active sensors, according to its website. 3Bee's last announced funding round was a €5 million Series A in December 2022 with GROW, Anya Capital and the European Space Agency, according to PR Newswire. Its accounts, filed in Italy, were not accessible in free sources for this article.
The record
From beehive sensors to a national biodiversity credit standard
3Bee used its EIC project to build a biodiversity measurement protocol and helped write Italy's first reference practice for biodiversity credits, published in 2025.
- 20173Bee foundedNiccolò Calandri, Riccardo Balzaretti
- Aug 2019EIC SME Instrument Phase 2HIVE-TECH: 2,580 hive sensors in the field by Jul 2021€0.99M grant
- Dec 2022€5M Series AGROW, Anya Capital, ESA
- Jun 2023EIC Accelerator cut-offBiodiversity Creditsgrant first
- Jan 2024Project starts€2.25M EU grant
- Jun 2024UNI starts standard workBiodiversity credits
- Dec 2024Element-E protocol in use31 sites, 10,910 hectares
- 2025UNI/PdR 179:2025 publishedBiodiversity credit rules
- Dec 2025Project endsNo final report published
3Bee, CORDIS, UNI and PR Newswire.
"The project must also define monetization pathways for biodiversity credits within carbon markets and engage investors to position them as viable financial assets."
3Bee, first periodic report to the EICThe Technology: Measuring Nature From Space and Hives
Companies face growing pressure to report their impact on nature under EU sustainability rules, but biodiversity has no agreed unit like a tonne of CO2. 3Bee combines satellite images, acoustic sensors that listen to pollinators, and soil and water sampling to estimate indicators such as mean species abundance, and packages the results for sustainability reports and credits.
The models
Accuracy of 3Bee's satellite classification models
After the first project year, 3Bee's neural networks classified land cover with 60% to 70% accuracy and tree species with 28% to 65%, the company reported.
3Bee, first periodic report (CORDIS). Percent accuracy, low and high end of reported range.
What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows
3Bee's EIC record began with its beehive sensors. At the 3 April 2019 cut-off of the EIC SME Instrument Phase 2, part of the Horizon 2020 EIC pilot, it was selected for HIVE-TECH, which ran from 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2021 with an EU contribution of €988,750 towards a total cost of €1,412,500, to bring its hive-monitoring device and decision-support platform to industrial production and validate them on 1,000 units in the field. The final report says the device reached a "Full Pro V2" release at lower production cost, the platform added Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite images, and 2,580 units were installed in the field, about 1,000 of them before the project began. 3Bee still lists Hive-Tech among its monitoring technologies on its website.
The award aimed to create a scientific, scalable way to measure biodiversity. 3Bee produced a certified protocol, applied it on real sites and helped turn it into a national reference practice. But its own figures show the AI models are far from precise, with tree species identified correctly between about a quarter and two thirds of the time. The report also lists monetisation of credits and investor engagement as work still to do. There is no final report.
- Certified protocolDeliveredBureau Veritas, 31 sites.
- National standardDeliveredUNI/PdR 179:2025.
- Accurate AI measurementPartial28-70% accuracy, 2024.
- Credit marketUnverifiedMonetisation still to define.
The Money
The EU covered 70% of the project. Its "grant first" award left EIC equity for later, and no EIC Fund investment or new private round has been announced since 2022. 3Bee's revenue and losses are not public in free sources.
The funding
Announced funding
3Bee's 2022 Series A included €700,000 from the European Space Agency for satellite biodiversity studies. The EIC grant is the largest single amount announced since.
PR Newswire (December 2022) and CORDIS. Values in € millions.
The project budget
Who paid for the €3.22M project
The EU covered 70% of the Biodiversity Credits project's cost.
CORDIS, project 101144456. Values in € millions.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
How many biodiversity credits 3Bee has issued and sold, how accurate its models were by the end of the project, what its revenue is and whether the EIC Fund invested are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EU wants companies to measure and restore nature, and a credible way to count biodiversity is a precondition for any market in nature credits. 3Bee has pushed that effort forward in Italy with a formal standard. Whether the credits carry real ecological value depends on measurement that is more accurate than the company's 2024 models.
What the award promised
A clear, scalable, scientific way to measure terrestrial biodiversity.
What the record shows
A certified protocol and a national standard, built on models of moderate accuracy.
The Verdict
A standard before the science settles
3Bee turned EIC money into a protocol and a standard. Its 2024 models were only moderately accurate, and later accuracy is not public.
3Bee and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
Sources
- CORDIS, Biodiversity Credits fact sheet
- CORDIS, Biodiversity Credits first periodic report
- CORDIS, HIVE-TECH fact sheet and final report
- European Commission, EIC SME Instrument Phase 2 selected companies, 3 April 2019 cut-off
- UNI, biodiversity credits reference practice, June 2024
- 3Bee, UNI/PdR 179:2025
- 3Bee, who we are
- PR Newswire, 3Bee €5M Series A, December 2022
Industry
Climate and environmentEnvironmental monitoring
- Focus
- Biodiversity monitoring
- Technologies
- Remote sensing
- Acoustic sensing
- Artificial intelligence
- Keywords
- Biodiversity credits
- Pollinators
- Corporate sustainability reporting
- Bees