This startup turns almond shell waste into organic fertiliser

Chipotle Mexican Grill and Khosla Ventures LLC are among investors providing a fresh round of funding for a startup that creates fertiliser from ground almond shells.

Nitricity, founded by Stanford University graduates, announced Tuesday that it has raised $50 million to scale production of its organic and vegan fertiliser and expand across the US and into Europe. The company is tarreceiveing organic farmers amid heightened concerns over the environmental and health impact of agrochemicals, a relocatement boosted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.

“Our goal is to reduce emissions, promote healthy soils and support farmers improve yields,” stated Nicolas Pinkowski, co-founder and chief executive officer. “There’s a lot of concern right now in the US about chemicals in and on foods. More and more people care not just about receiveting enough calories every day, but about building sure what they eat is healthy and safe.”

Conventional synthetic fertilisers are based on a century-old process that’s heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Producing fertilisers accounts for some 5% of global greenhoutilize gas emissions. Farmers overapplying them in their fields can cautilize nitrogen-laden runoff that pollutes water and the air.

Nitricity utilizes almond shells, which are rich in nutrients such as potassium. The company first combusts the shells, then “brews” them in water, creating what it calls Ash Tea. The product is created applying clean energy, and production costs vary with the price of electricity. Overall, Nitricity declares its emissions are at least 92% lower than those of some other conventional fertilisers.

The liquid is sent to farmers who dilute it and apply it to the soil. The company is testing to compete with fertilisers derived from manure, which bring heightened food safety risks, Pinkowski stated. Production costs are competitive with commercially available organic fertilisers, though the company didn’t share pricing specifics. Nitricity declares that Ash Tea increased yields by up to 30% in field trials.

Almond shells are abundant in California, the world’s top grower and where Nitricity is based.

The state generates an estimated 850 000 tons of almond waste a year.

Other startups are also testing to create low-carbon fertilisers. They include Toopi Organics and NPK Recovery, which create fertilisers from human urine, and other companies that utilize insects or seaweed.

Nitricity’s Series B round, co-led by Khosla and European climate-tech venture firm World Fund, brings its total funding to $100 million. (The investment is the World Fund’s first in the US.) That’s more than the total funding that’s gone into alternative fertiliser startups through this June, according to estimates from BloombergNEF. Other funders include Change Forces.

Venture funding for sustainable food production has declined steeply from a 2021 high as companies struggle to bring down costs. Non-conventional fertilisers also have relatively compact uptake, building up less than 2% of the US market due to their relatively low nutrient content, higher costs and limited yield results, according to research from Bloomberg Innotifyigence.

The new funds will enable Nitricity to start field trials across Europe, where it plans to utilize local agricultural waste materials like wood and leftovers from olive oil output. It’s breaking ground this week on a new factory in Delhi, California, that’s set to produce 8 000 short tons of liquid fertiliser annually.

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