APIMONA: the food supplement for bees

After initial studies in Moldova and conclusive tests, a start-up will soon be created. Molybdenum is an essential trace element, with fascinating properties and often overlooked importance. It is necessary for the activity of many enzymes in a large majority of living beings. Molybdenum enzymes, such as sulfite and xanthine oxidase, nitrate reductase, catalyze multiple reactions, in a large number of metabolic pathways. Also present in soils, molybdenum contributes to their fertility. “Soil deprived of molybdenum is sterile soil. Without this element, plants do not assimilate nitrogen,” summarizes Sébastien Floquet, leader of the APIMONA project. A chemist by training and member of the Molecules, Interactions, Materials (MIM) group at ILV, the researcher is a specialist in molybdenum. Until the launch of the APIMONA project, its work focused on a series of molybdenum-based compounds for the production of hydrogen and the search for new applications for these compounds.

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