NPHarvest, a spin-off from Aalto University, has raised €2.2M in funding, consisting of a €1.3M equity investment and a €900,000 grant from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment and their RAKI program. The round was led by Nordic Foodtech VC, with participation from Stephen Industries and Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry. The company has developed a nutrient-catching technology installed in wastewater management systems, which separates and collects excess nutrients from wastewater for recycling and sale to the fertilizer industry. The funding will be used to build their first commercially ready Nutrient Catcher, which features a modular design for scalability to different facilities while maintaining low production costs. This technology aims to improve business profitability, reduce pollution, and enhance food security by providing a sustainable source of recycled nutrients and fertilizers.
NPHarvest has developed a novel and soon patented hardware solution for collection and recycling of nutrients from wastewater. With the new funding, NPHarvest is going to build the first commercially ready Nutrient Catcher, ready to be installed in their clients’ facilities. Thanks to the process’ modular design, the Nutrient Catcher can scale to different use cases and fit different facilities while keeping the production costs as low as possible.
“Our process is much more energy and cost-efficient and easier to operate than the current solutions. Our end product is ammonia salt, which is commonly used in the fertilizer industry. We are very excited about bringing this technology to the market after years of research and development, bringing sustainable and affordable recycled nutrients and fertilizers to the market,” says Juho Uzkurt Kaljunen, CEO and founder of NPHarvest.
Nutrient fertilizers are vital for securing food production. However, excessive amounts of fertilizers, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, end up in the environment via wastewater or through nutrient leaching from agricultural areas. Both cause pollution of the ground and eutrophication in seas and lakes, which in turn causes overgrowth of algae and weeds, especially toxic blue-green algae, depleting oxygen and killing animal life. Wastewater is also responsible for around five percent of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Losing valuable nutrients in wastewater is a missed opportunity for the whole agricultural ecosystem. Fertilizer prices are volatile and they need to be imported from abroad, decreasing self-sufficiency. The inability to remove excess nutrients from the ecosystem will also gradually lead to soil contamination, as farmers prefer using fossil-based mineral fertilizers or nutrient-rich manure. However, too much nutrients might actually result in nutrient deficiencies in plants.
NPHarvest’s hardware can catch up to 90 percent of the excess but valuable nutrients from wastewater. Once the technology has separated the nutrients, they can be taken back to the fertilizer companies. NPHarvest’s process also uses very little energy, as it doesn’t require heating or pressure increase, reducing the costs of the process even further.
“No one has done nutrient catching on a real commercial level, which made us as foodtech investors impressed with NPHarvest and its unique technology. Ensuring food security while protecting the environment is one of the top priorities in the food system. NPHarvest´s technology has what it takes to combine these aspects in a very interesting business model,” says Mika Kukkurainen, Partner at Nordic Foodtech VC.
NPHarvest has two patents pending and is gearing up towards building its first products, ready to be installed at wastewater management facilities. Their main customers are wastewater management plants, biogas plants, and livestock farms that are trying to cut their costs, reduce their carbon footprint, or earn extra income from recycled fertilizer sales.
Antti Myllärinen CEO of Doranova Oy, says: “Nutrient recovery stands as a critical component within the biogas industry, yet frequently encounters bottlenecks during the processing of wastewater treatment plant sludges or organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). The innovative methodology of NPHarvest presents a tangible opportunity to surmount these challenges effectively.”
“As a public water utility, NSVA needs to pursue climate neutrality to benefit the municipalities we work for. NPHarvest’s technology for nitrogen and phosphorus recovery has the potential to allow increased nutrient recovery from wastewater, which is a promising method that can aid our municipalities in reaching reduced climate impacts.“ Hamse Kjerstadius, Development Engineer of Swedish NSVA, Northwest Skåne Water and Wastewater, continues: “The entire water management market in Europe is estimated to be worth around 170 billion euros, and the concentrated water management market in the EU is worth approximately 47 billion euros. We are excited to enter the next stage of our company’s journey together with our investors, enhancing food security, creating better environmental impacts, and making wastewater management and nutrient catching a profitable business.”
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