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Synthetic fertilizer is a modern wonder, helping to feed billions of people, but it’s not without its costs. Fertilizer runoff from farm fields has led to dead zones in oceans around the world, where low oxygen levels have starved normally teeming coastal waters of life.
Eliminating synthetic fertilizers is a tall order, but one startup thinks that its bacteria can eliminate up to half of it, all while undercutting fertilizer on cost.
NetZeroNitrogen’s Innovative Solution
NetZeroNitrogen has developed a suite of bacterial strains that is applied directly to the seed and allows the plant to get nitrogen from the atmosphere instead of chemicals. This precision sniper approach, as described by co-founder and CEO Justin Hughes, stands in contrast to the shotgun approach of spreading fertilizer all over the field.
The startup recently raised a $6.6 million seed round led by World Fund and Azolla Ventures, showcasing the growing interest in sustainable agricultural solutions. NetZeroNitrogen’s bacteria, the result of over a decade of research, are not genetically modified, making them suitable for organic markets as well.
Revolutionizing Agriculture with Biomanufacturing
The company plans to roll out its first product for rice, leveraging the convenience of applying the bacterial strains by soaking seeds in water. By utilizing large fermenters for strain production, NetZeroNitrogen can offer its bacterial amendment at a lower cost than synthetic fertilizer, aiming for a significant discount for farmers in regions like Southeast Asia.
While synthetic fertilizer won’t disappear overnight, NetZeroNitrogen’s innovative approach presents an efficient and sustainable solution to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. “Of the proportion that we can solve, it’s effectively 100% efficiency,” Hughes emphasized, highlighting the potential for widespread adoption of their bacteria in the agricultural sector.
