Research questions that have fascinated Torgny Näsholm throughout his career evolved into a research field of their own – and eventually into a company. As an entrepreneur, he has been able to test his research ideas on a large scale, uncovering insights that would never have emerged in the lab.
2026 is a busy, but also very good, year for Torgny Näsholm.
“The hardest part is finding enough time. Just look at how difficult it was to find time for this interview, for example!”
The research has led to new insights and findings, with several scientific publications currently in the works. At the same time, his company is expanding.
“I always say that I’m a researcher first, but in the same breath I add that I’m also an entrepreneur. They are two completely different things, of course, but the brain isn’t divided into two separate compartments.”
As a professor, Torgny spends part of his time conducting research and teaching at SLU, specialising in forest genetics and plant physiology. He devotes the rest of his time wholeheartedly to his company, Arevo – a journey that began around the turn of the millennium.
“Most people don’t comment on my two separate careers. Others wonder, ‘How does that work?’ or ask, ‘Why?’ But to be honest, it’s hard to say why I became an entrepreneur.”
One reason Torgny started Arevo in 2015 was that it had become clear that the research findings could be translated into commercial applications and brought to market. Through his research, he discovered that there is a significant difference for a plant between how much nutrition it receives and the form in which that nutrition is supplied.
“Observations led to research questions. How does the type of nitrogen supplied affect plant development, and how are resources allocated between shoots and roots? How, mechanistically, does a plant perceive that it is receiving different forms of nitrogen? This is about evolution — how plants have developed mechanisms to optimise their growth and development in different environments.”
Torgny’s company, Arevo, now employs around 15 people. The company grew out of his early work at SweTree Technologies, a research and technology company that brought together a number of SLU researchers who wanted to take their work beyond the academic world. SLU Holding was also an important partner during those early years.
“When I started Arevo, I was the CEO at first. But research and development is really where I belong. So now I’m…”
Torgny has to look up his title on the company’s website.
“…CTO, Chief Technology Officer. I oversee the earliest stages of product development and keep track of the development of our patent portfolio. Every country has its own rules and regulatory frameworks, so the process requires a great deal of time and effort. So far, we have 46 granted patents across ten different patent families, with another 27 patent applications in the pipeline.”
Arevo develops products that combine fertiliser nutrients with amino acids. As the product breaks down slowly, it stimulates root growth, helping plants make much more efficient use of the water and nutrients already available in their surroundings.
The amino acid arginine is a key ingredient and a central part of the company’s proprietary chemistry. The name Arevo comes from the first syllable of arginine, while “evo” is derived from evolution. Or perhaps revolution? Arevo aims to revolutionise agriculture from the ground up.
“But I think it’s really more about evolution,” says Torgny.
The nutrient product is available in liquid form for nurseries and lawns. It is also produced as a solid granule, which is currently used mainly in forestry, although agriculture and horticulture are growing markets as well. The third product is a seed treatment based on a special formulation of arginine. A finished product for soybeans is already on the market, while equivalent products for maize and wheat are in development. The EU, Ukraine and South America are the company’s main markets.
“From the very beginning, the focus has been on minimising nutrient losses across all types of cultivation. We know exactly how to do it, what the end product will be, and how it should be used. Precision is the key word — and what makes Arevo’s products unique,” says Torgny.
While agriculture and forestry inevitably involve an element of unpredictability, there is very little variation between different batches of the company’s patented plant nutrition products.
“We don’t use waste streams with varying compositions. Instead, this is pure and precise chemistry, combined with an understanding of how it is processed by biological systems.”
The roles of researcher and entrepreneur continually inspire one another, leading to further development and new insights.
“Arevo grew out of my research, but over time I’ve come to realise how much ideas have flowed in both directions. Research is often portrayed as a one-way street, with research leading to products, but for me it has also worked the other way around. As a researcher, I can devote myself wholeheartedly to ideas, observations, thoughts and hypotheses. As an entrepreneur, I know that 99 out of 100 ideas won’t make it, because the resulting products would simply be too expensive for customers to buy. And as an entrepreneur, I sometimes discover things I would never have found in a lab, because everything happens on a different scale. I might be able to conduct research on ten pine trees, while as an entrepreneur I sell products that are used on millions of trees,” says Torgny Näsholm.
As mentioned, 2026 is proving to be a very good year, and Arevo is clearly in an expansion phase. This summer, news broke that Torgny Näsholm’s company is entering into a collaboration with global agricultural company Corteva around Arginex Soy, Arevo’s plant nutrition system applied to seeds.
Does he have any advice for fellow researchers who dream of becoming entrepreneurs?
“Advice is difficult to give. But complement your own skills with those of others. For example, I get invaluable advice on patents to help protect what we want to protect. And make absolutely sure that you really have something unique to offer the market!”
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Torgny Näsholm. Foto: Andreas Palmén
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