In response, cleantech startup NPHarvest has launched its first industrial-scale nutrient recovery system at a biogas facility in Ankara, Turkey. The project, backed by Ankara’s municipal water authority, showcases a practical method of recovering agricultural nutrients directly from wastewater streams — a step toward reducing reliance on volatile global markets.
The economic stakes are high: EU fertilizer imports jumped by more than a third in 2024 alone, surpassing $2 billion. With nutrient input prices spiraling, interest in circular economy solutions that can extract value from waste is intensifying across both policy and investment circles.
Nordic Foodtech VC partner Mika Kukkurainen has highlighted the growing urgency for localized, resilient nutrient sourcing. "Nutrients for fertilizers can not be sourced from geopolically risky sources. On the other hand, we cannot let valuable nutrients be wasted in the wrong places, causing problems for the environment. Thus, a cost-efficient way to reduce GHG emissions and manage wastewaters, manure, and other liquid waste in compliance with regulations is highly needed. NPHarvest delivers just that – a win-win-win for all stakeholders.”
NPHarvest’s patented system uses a hydrophobic membrane stripping process to extract nitrogen and phosphorus from high-load waste streams, including blackwater, liquid digestate, and manure. Unlike traditional nutrient recovery technologies, the system avoids energy-intensive heating or pressurization, instead leveraging chemical dosing to achieve recovery efficiencies of up to 90%.
At the Aslan Biomass site in Ankara, the demo unit is expected to produce roughly 93 tonnes of ammonium sulfate and 73 tons of phosphorus-based outputs annually. These figures, while modest at demonstration scale, signal strong scalability potential: a fully implemented system could recover over 3,200 tons of ammonium sulfate and 2,500 tons of phosphorus products per year.
The system also provides operational benefits for the host facility. Previously, Aslan Biomass had been trucking nutrient-laden wastewater to nearby farms, an approach limited by nutrient loading caps and logistical constraints. By shifting to on-site nutrient recovery, the plant reduces transportation costs, streamlines compliance, and gains a new revenue stream from the recovered materials.
Turkey’s infrastructure and market readiness make it a strategic location for early deployment. With over 2,000 wastewater treatment facilities and increasing government interest in sustainable waste management, the region offers a proving ground for tech with broader EU applicability.
