Our goal is to price our urine fertilizer competitively with mineral fertilizers which varies throughout the year depending on access and demand. Our cost to produce the fertiliser is higher, but we want to ensure accessibility for farmers. We are actively working to scale–up production and reduce costs to make urine fertilizer a viable economic alternative. 

We aim to launch our urine fertiliser commercially by 2027 as we’re currently supplying all the fertiliser to local farmers growing barley, in connection to the deliverables of the EU-funded P2Green-project. 

Large-scale production also requires significant infrastructure, and we are currently planning a facility on Gotland to process, dry, pelletize, and package urine fertilizer. Once operational, this facility will enable us to meet farmers’ demand for sustainable, circular fertilizers.

The potential varies by country and population size. In Sweden, collecting and processing all human urine could replace approximately 30% of the mineral fertilisers used in agriculture. In South Africa, the replacement potential is even higher at around 50%. Countries with larger populations and lower reliance on synthetic fertilisers could see even greater benefits. Our technology is designed to be adaptable to different climatic and socioeconomic contexts to maximize its global impact. 

Simha, P. (2021). Substituting nitrogen and phosphorous used in agriculture with human urine. https://osf.io/7ckax/

How much fertiliser could be produced if all urine on Gotland was collected? 

Gotland’s population of approximately 61,173 people (2022) and annual guest visits contribute to an estimated 1,405 tons of dry urine fertilizer per year. This could fertilize around 2,480 hectares of farmland, helping reduce dependence on imported mineral fertilisers while supporting local food production. *This is based on our own calculations*

Pathogens

Urine is pathogen free when excreted from a healthy individual. However, some pathogens can sometimes be present due to cross contamination from faeces or enter the urine from the environment once you’ve peed. To ensure the safety of those using the fertiliser, our specially engineered stabiliser eliminates any potential pathogens. Research confirms that our process renders the fertilizer pathogen-free and safe for agricultural use.

References:

Rumeau, M., Pistocchi, C., Ait-Mouheb, N., Marsden, C., & Brunel, B. (2024). Unveiling the impact of human urine fertilization on soil bacterial communities: A path toward sustainable fertilization. In Applied Soil Ecology (Vol. 201, p. 105471). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105471 

Senecal, J. (2020). Safe Nutrient Recovery from Human Urine—System and Hygiene Evaluation of Alkaline Urine Dehydration. Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. https://res.slu.se/id/publ/105754

Heavy Metals

Only in extremely low concentrations—significantly lower than in animal manure, which is one of the most widely used fertilizers. Additionally, heavy metal levels in urine are often lower than those found in drinking water. Most heavy metals that exit the human body do so through faeces rather than urine (Vinnerås, 2002). This makes urine a cleaner nutrient source compared to other organic fertilizers.

Research also shows that the most common synthetic fertiliser used by EU farmers has up to ten times the cadmium levels that are allowed in sewage sludge for agricultural use in Sweden (Region Gotland, 2019). Knowing that heavy metals are mainly excreted in our faeces, the levels in our urine are significantly lower than in most fertilisers used today.

References:

Region Gotland. (2019). Frågor och svar om REVAQ, uppströmsarbete, fosfor och slam. https://www.gotland.se/revaq

Vinnerås, B. (2002). The performance and potential of faecal separation and urine diversion to recycle plant nutrients in household wastewater. In Bioresource Technology (Vol. 84, Issue 3, pp. 275–282). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-8524(02)00054-8

eurofins. (n.d.). Analys av slam och vatten i REVAQ. Eurofins Environment Testing Sweden AB. https://www.eurofins.se/media/681694/revaq.pdf

Antibiotics and hormones

Urine contains smaller amounts of antibiotics and hormones than manure (Hammer & Clemens, 2007). Many hormone-based medications mimic naturally occurring substances that nature already has mechanisms to break down (Jönsson et al., 2004). Once urine is applied to soil, biological degradation processes further transform these compounds into non-harmful substances. As a result, the environmental impact of hormones and antibiotics from urine fertilizer is expected to be lower than from animal manure, but ongoing studies continue to evaluate this aspect. 

References: 

Hammer, M., Clemens, J. 2007. A tool to evaluate the fertiliser value and the environmental impact of substrates from wastewater treatment. Water Science and Technology, 56(5), 201–209. https://iwaponline.com/wst/article-abstract/56/5/201/14037/A-tool-to-evaluate-the-fertiliser-value-and-the?redirectedFrom=fulltext 

Goetsch, H. E., Love, N. G., & Wigginton, K. R. (2020). Fate of Extracellular DNA in the Production of Fertilizers from Source-Separated Urine. In Environmental Science & Technology (Vol. 54, Issue 3, pp. 1808–1815). American Chemical Society (ACS). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b04263 Results from Goetsch et al. Explained here by the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/22/study-gives-green-light-to-use-of-urine-as-crop-fertiliser 

We are pre-commercial but in the processing of preparing a launch for 2026, where we will launch our system that treats 10 litres of urine per day! We also hope to be selling our urine stabiliser and the final end product: beer very soon.

Sign up here to get notified about our launch:  

Urine Collection Interface 

Urine can be collected by any type of urine-diverting interface – meaning regular urinals (male/female/unisex), Laufen Save! Toilets, Wotsmans urine-diverting toilets, Ecosan urine-diverting toilets. The important part is that the urine is collected separately from the feces and toilet paper.  

Urine Collection Container 

The urine is collected directly inside the urinal in some cases (such as the portable urinals we use). In other cases, it is piped into a container. The size of the container does not matter, as long as (1) the stabiliser is in the container from the start and (2) the container is not a large open bucket (this can cause mal odour). We often collect the urine 25 L water containers and then transfer into 1 000 L containers. 

Dosing: 10 g per L. This might need to be adjusted as we are uncertain of the urine chemistry in the local context – urine chemistry is dependent on food and liquid intake which varies greatly across regions. 

The dosing is needed to prevent mal odour formation and to retain the nitrogen in the urine. Overdosing is ok as this helps preserve the nitrogen during storage. Under-dosing will result in mal-odours and emissions of nitrogen to the atmosphere during collection and fertiliser use.  

Urine Storage 

The collected urine can be stored directly in the collection container or transferred into a larger holding vessel (such as a 1000 L container). The container should be sealed and if possible protected from direct sunlight. The stabilised urine can be stored for 3 months if the containers are clean. If the containers are not clean (as in being re-used for storage), then ideally the urine should be used within 4 weeks. Nothing bad will happen to the urine if stored for longer, but there may be some mal odours forming.  

Urine as fertiliser  

The urine can be directly used as a liquid fertiliser. In general, urine is found to have 6 g of nitrogen per L. If possible, have the nitrogen concentration tested as this can differ geographically. Please calculate how much nitrogen is needed for the given surface area based on the specific needs of the plants and apply appropriately. Tips, if applying to: 

·         Bare soil and ungerminated seeds: then apply directly to the soil and mix in 

·         Established plants that are in rows: then apply 15 cm to the side of the plants and mix in, if possible. 

·         Established plants without rows (such as hay/grass): apply directly to the plants, and flow by irrigating with fresh water to rinse the leaves.  

Urine makes up only about 1% of our wastewater by volume, yet it contains 70–80% of the nutrients. In our human excreta alone, urine accounts for 80-90% of nitrogen, 50-65% of phosphorus and 50-80% of potassium found in human excreta. Therefore, by focusing on the urine fraction, we can more easily store, transport and process the liquid, whilst still recycling most of the nutrients in our wastewater. Urine is also unique in being the wastewater fraction with the least number of pathogens and heavy metals  – making it less energy intense to process and safely manage.  

References: 

Viskari, E.L., Grobler, G., Karimäki, K., Gorbatova, A., Vilpas, R., & Lehtoranta, S. (2018). Nitrogen Recovery With Source Separation of Human Urine—Preliminary Results of Its Fertiliser Potential and Use in Agriculture. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2, 32. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2018.00032 

Wald, C. (2022). The urine revolution: How recycling pee could help to save the world. Nature, 602(7896), 202–206. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00338-6 

Senecal, J. (2020). Safe Nutrient Recovery from Human Urine—System and Hygiene Evaluation of Alkaline Urine Dehydration. Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. https://res.slu.se/id/publ/105754 

Nagy, J. & Zseni, Aniko. (2017). Human urine as an efficient fertilizer product in agriculture. Agronomy Research. 15. 490-500. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317745835_Human_urine_as_an_efficient_fertilizer_product_in_agriculture 

Hernández Leal, L., Tervahauta, T., & Zeeman, G. (2017). Resource recovery from source separated domestic wastewater; energy, water, nutrients, and organics. In J. M. Lema & S. Suarez (Eds.), Innovative Wastewater Treatment & Resource Recovery Technology: Impacts on Energy, Economy and Environment. London, UK: IWA. 

There is an odour, like any bio-based fertiliser. However, the odour is much less offensive than unstabilised urine. Our stabilizer prevents ammonia formation, reducing the odour significantly. Instead, the dried urine has a mild metallic scent and is less odorous than many traditional fertilizers.