Nitroterra

Based in Slovakia, Nitroterra offers farmers customized biofertilizer recipes and biofertilizer production units for on-site production. Nitroterra works with farmers to analyze their soil samples using the company’s soil and microbial analysis platform, formulating a customized microbial biofertilizer solution suitable for that soil. Nitroterra also tracks soil samples using a numbering system to monitor how soil health evolves over time and adjusts the microbial recipes accordingly. The biofertilizer solution offers different benefits based on different recipes such as fixing nitrogen, solubilizing phosphorus, and decomposing organic matter.

Nitroterra’s production unit claims to have a capacity that can produce enough biofertilizer for 30,000 hectares per year, uses less energy compared to other industrial solutions, and can be installed directly on the farm and anywhere convenient. The company targets organic and synthetic fertilizer producers as well as farmers, claiming that it is relatively cheaper to purchase and operate than other solutions. 

Nitroterra has conducted field tests to evaluate the effects of farmers switching to biofertilizers. Based on a field test conducted over two seasons, Nitroterra found that farmers could reduce synthetic fertilizer usage by up to 70%, saving up to EUR 120 per hectare (using 2020 fertilizer prices) when used together with synthetic fertilizers. The company also showed that using its biofertilizer reduces greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 810 kg of CO2 per hectare per year. 

As of May 2022, Nitroterra had not commercialized its product and was building a prototype production unit, which was in the testing phase. The company intended to produce a second unit by the end of 2022 and test it in the 2023 farming season with several local and overseas manufacturers. 

In April 2020, the company received EUR  1 million (~USD 1.05 million) in seed funding from CB Growth ONE, part of CB Investment Management, to finalize the development of its biofertilizer technology, launch the first commercial versions of its soil analysis platform, and enter the Slovakian and European markets.