Company Overview

NuPlant is a biotechnology company that aims to improve the productivity of the global tissue culture market by commercializing its SmartClone™ technologies.

NuPlant has considerable operational experience in commercial tissue culture, particularly of woody plants, many of which are generally labelled recalcitrant. However,NuPlant elected several years ago to focus on development of its SmartClone technology, which is built on this experience together with the application of robotics in tissue culture. This focus led to an exit from operating commercial laboratories.

TheSmartClone™ intellectual property is owned, without license obligations or other encumbrances, by NuPlant Pty Ltd.

1. International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2010/001008 entitled "plantlet handling system”. This is published as follows. New Zealand – Patent issued NZ 598476; Australia – Patent issued AU 2010281302; Europe – Grant procedures entered EP 1080 5898.3

2. International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2012/000676 entitled "Robotic plantlet handling system”. This is published; entered national phase in Europe, Canada, United States, New Zealand and Australia. Corresponding status as follows. Europe – EP 1279 6642.2 Patent granted and now being validated in Belgium, Germany, France, UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.United States – US Patent 9,439,361 issued; New Zealand – NZ 619736Patent issued; Australia – AU 2012267146 Patent Issued; Canada – CA 2856091 Patent Issued

3. Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2014904531 "Plantlet holder and handling system” filed 11 November 2014, and subsequently PCT/AU2015/050698. This has just entered the national phase in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. Corresponding Application Numbers are:Europe – EP 15858962.2; United States – US 15/525886; New Zealand– NZ 732615; Australia – AU 2015345995


Clonal propagation provides the most direct means to capture genetic gains from advanced breeding. Cloning has been used for thousands of years through methods such as cutting and tuber propagation, but these methods are generally slow and limited in application. Tissue culture methods developed about 50 years ago provide disease-free plants with much more rapid propagation. However, these methods are not effective with all species, and the cost was generally not cost-competitive with seed.


Application was confined to species where higher unit prices can be commanded for the benefits of disease-free or genetically improved plants. There are many crops that can benefit from clonal propagation, but practical methods are not available. In addition, there are many species for which tissue culture may be biologically successful, but for which cost-sensitivity precludes use of conventional methods. SmartClone™ has the potential, by improving tissue culture growth and increasing operational efficiency, to massively extend the benefits of cloning to crops currently depending on seed propagation, with applications in broad acre farming, horticulture, forestry and biofuels.


SmartClone™ represents a fast-track delivery system for genetic improvements obtained through breeding. NuPlant is committed to the improvement of clonal propagation techniques to produce tougher plants faster. NuPlant focuses on the commercialization of its proprietary SmartClone™ plantlet propagation systems through the sale of SmartClone™ robotic systems and related consumables to enable tissue culture operations worldwide to increase production and improve the quality of the plant propagation material produced.

SmartClone™ - Tougher plantlets faster

SmartClone™ changes the tissue culture paradigm. NuPlant’s key technology allows conditions to be customized for each growth phase for more robust plantlets, grading for uniformity, robotic handling for laboratory efficiency, easy soil transfer, and a head start for accelerated nursery growth.