Key Takeaways
- NPHarvest, a Finnish company that recovers nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater, digestate, and industrial side streams, has completed a successful industrial-scale demonstration of its technology in Germany.
- The roughly two-month trial in Bakum, Germany, tested the system on digestate with a total-solids load up to three times the unit's design specification, reaching a peak ammonia-nitrogen recovery of 90.6%.
- Around 30 wastewater and biogas operators visited the site within weeks of the demonstration going live, reflecting strong commercial interest across Europe.
- The demonstration unit will next be deployed in Italy to further assess its performance in a challenging operating environment.
- NPHarvest argues that recoverable nitrogen and phosphorus in domestic waste streams should be treated as strategic fertilizer inputs as EU fertilizer-security policy looks beyond imports.
NPHarvest Validates Nutrient Recovery Technology at Industrial Scale
NPHarvest, a Finnish company specializing in the recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater, digestate, and industrial side streams, has completed a successful industrial-scale demonstration of its technology in Germany. The trial validated the system under real operating conditions and has generated strong commercial interest from operators across Europe seeking to convert nutrient-rich waste streams into a domestic source of fertilizer inputs.
The demonstration ran for roughly two months at an industrial site in Bakum, Germany, where NPHarvest operated its demonstration unit on digestate carrying a total-solids load up to three times the system's design specification. Despite these demanding conditions, the unit reached a peak ammonia-nitrogen recovery rate of 90.6% and operated within its 70–90% target range whenever conditions fell within specification.
Strong Operator Interest Following the Demonstration
Commercial interest in the technology has been substantial. Within weeks of the demonstration going live, around 30 wastewater and biogas operators visited the site to see the system in operation. NPHarvest says the successful trial validates the underlying technology, demonstrating that its core recovery process performs at industrial scale under real-world conditions.
“Europe is asking where it should import fertiliser from next, when part of the answer is already inside its own waste streams. This demonstration shows the recovery can be done at industrial scale. The strong operator interest tells us the market is ready for it,” said Dr. Juho Uzkurt Kaljunen, CEO of NPHarvest.
“When we launched this installation, the interest from operators was already strong — now that the system has proven itself on real digestate, that interest is only increasing. Plants across the region are under pressure to manage nutrients more efficiently, and they want solutions they've seen working, not promises,” said Milan Hofmann, Managing Director at Varea Water, NPHarvest's regional project developer for Central Europe and the UK.
Next Steps For NPHarvest: Deployment in Italy and EU Fertilizer Security
Reflecting the level of interest across the region, the demonstration unit will next be deployed in Italy to further assess its capacity to operate in a challenging environment. NPHarvest frames this expansion within a broader argument: as EU fertilizer-security policy increasingly looks beyond imports, the company contends that recoverable nitrogen and phosphorus in domestic waste streams should be treated as strategic inputs rather than waste.
