Phospholutions, a Pennsylvania firm developing sustainable fertilizer technology, has raised an additional $10.15 million from global fertilizer companies and investors to accelerate the commercialization of its RhizoSorb platform.
St. Louis, Miss.-based Advantage Capital led the funding round with participation from existing investors — the venture unit of Belgium’s Continental Grain Company, New York-based Tekfen Ventures, Maumee Ventures of Ohio, and Harrisburg, Pa.-based Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Swiss fertilizer trading firm Keytrade was a new investor. Since its founding in 2016, Phospholutions has raised $29 million from investors.
“We are pleased to welcome new investors like Advantage and Keytrade supporting our efforts to accelerate commercialization of our phosphate efficiency technology,” said Jason Burke, the State College, Pa.-based firm’s vice president for finance. “Additionally, the continued support from our existing investors really fortifies what we are doing to bring new sustainable fertilizers to the U.S. farmer,” he added.
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Phospholutions CEO Hunter Swisher founded the company when still studying for his B.S. degree in Plant Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. The sustainability firm critically aims to improve the fertilizer efficiency of phosphorus, the second-largest nutrient used in food production worldwide. This year, Hunter was recognized by Forbes 30 under 30 in the 2023 Social Impact class. He has also been listed for three consecutive years as Foremost under 40 by Pennsylvania Business Central, and under the Top 100 People of Pennsylvania.
One key problem Phospholutions has addressed is this — more than 90% of phosphorus mined today is applied as fertilizer to farm fields but only 10% makes it to the consumer’s plate. To redress this, the company has developed patented technology called RhizoSorb, which not only raises absorption of conventional phosphorus fertilizers but also addresses other issues such as leaching. RhizoSorb, for example, cuts phosphorus use by up to 50%, enabling cost savings too. It also cuts runoff potential by 58%, leaching by 87%, and greenhouse gas emissions by more than half.
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RhizoSorb also mitigates damage caused by harmful algae blooms (HAB’s) and water quality degradation by excess nutrients, such as phosphorus. This problem reportedly affects more than 70% of the earth’s freshwater. Another growing and compounding challenge cited by Phospholutions is emissions associated with eutrophication. This level, the company says, could be the equivalent of 50% to 75% of today’s total vehicle-related emissions.
Phospholutions launched RhizoSorb 8-39-0 in the U.S. row crop market this past spring and has added three new regional managers and a director of agronomy to support sales to agricultural retailers in North America. RhizoSorb is in use in five countries outside the United States, including India, New Zealand and Turkey. Field trials are planned in China, Brazil and Canada during the 2024 growing season.
“This pioneering solution offers producers an opportunity to embrace sustainable technology and enhance conventional fertilizer production while also extending the value to the farmer, creating a more environmentally friendly and economically viable approach,” said Melih Keyman, president and CEO of Keytrade.
