NPHarvest, an Espoo-based spin-off company from Aalto University, has raised €1.3 million in funding led by Nordic Foodtech VC and a €900,000 grant from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment and their RAKI program. The funding will be used to build their first commercially ready Nutrient Catcher, EU-Startups informs.

  • NPHarvest develops a hardware solution for collection and recycling of nutrients from wastewater. Its 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.
  • NPHarvest’s hardware can catch up to 90% of the excess but valuable nutrients from wastewater. Once the technology has separated the nutrients, they can be taken back to the fertilizer companies. The company claims, its process also uses very little energy, as doesn’t require heating or pressure increase. NPHarvest’s customers are wastewater management plants, biogas plants, and livestock farms.
NPHarvest
Juho Uzkurt Kaljunen, CEO and founder of NPHarvest. Image: NPHarvest

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,

Juho Uzkurt Kaljunen, CEO and founder of NPHarvest, commented to EU-Startups.
  • The fresh €2.2 million investment consists of a €1.3 million equity investment and a €900,000 grant from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment and their RAKI program.
  • The equity part was led by Nordic Foodtech VC, a vintage early stage venture capital fund located in Helsinki and investing in food and biotech startup across Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden. Stephen Industries and Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry also joined the round.

The funding will be utilized to construct their initial commercially ready Nutrient Catcher. The startup also seeks to enhance business profitability, decrease pollution, and boost food security by offering a sustainable source of recycled nutrients and fertilizers.