NPK Recovery
NPK Recovery is a Bristol-based cleantech startup that operates a mobile, modular system converting urine collected at events into liquid bio-fertiliser using bacteria-based nutrient recovery. It serves event organisers, farmers, growers, and toilet providers across the United Kingdom, with university-validated performance equivalent to synthetic ammonium nitrate.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersBristol, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What NPK Recovery does
NPK Recovery is a Bristol-based, privately-held cleantech startup founded in 2023 by Hannah Van Den Bergh. The company develops, produces, and sells urine-based bio-fertiliser, operating a mobile, modular system that connects to existing event toilet infrastructure (compost toilets, waterless urinals) and uses bacteria to recover naturally occurring nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and micronutrients from human urine. The system includes filtration, heat treatment, and concentration steps to produce a safe, liquid fertiliser, with the company claiming 100% nitrogen recovery, a 95% reduction in waste volume, and an 80% reduction in water use compared to traditional flushing. The system is transportable, designed for festivals, sporting events, and temporary sites, with an alternative Bristol-lab tankering option.
The company serves three primary customer segments: event organisers (large-scale outdoor events seeking to reduce tankering and meet sustainability targets), farmers and growers (seeking trials of a sustainable fertiliser alternative to imported synthetic fertilisers), and toilet providers (seeking to integrate circular sanitation into their service offerings). Named deployments and partnerships include Boomtown Festival, the TCS London Marathon (in collaboration with PEEQUAL), Bristol Pride, and a three-year project with the Stump up for Trees charity and the Forestry Commission to grow 4,500 native British trees. The fertiliser's agronomic performance has been independently validated by the Royal Agricultural University, UK Agri-Tech Centre, and the University of the West of England, with trial results indicating performance equivalent to synthetic ammonium nitrate in wheat.
NPK Recovery's business model combines (1) professional services revenue from event-based deployment and tankering, (2) one-time licence/sales revenue from fertiliser sold to farmers and growers, and (3) managed-services revenue from toilet-provider integration partnerships. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with multi-year contract arrangements. The company is currently funded primarily through non-dilutive UK public and corporate grants — Innovate UK, Defra, UKRI, the Co-op Carbon Innovation Fund, and a £435,627 Forestry Commission Tree Production Innovation Fund grant — and is founder-led with a small team of 1–10 employees including a Director/Founder, Product Manager, Chemical Process Engineer, Instrument and Design Engineer, R&D Scientists, and Finance Officer.
NPK Recovery firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NPK Recovery
- Legal name
- NPK Recovery
- Website
- https://npkrecovery.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- NPK Recovery is a Bristol-based cleantech startup that operates a mobile, modular system converting urine collected at events into liquid bio-fertiliser using bacteria-based nutrient recovery. It serves event organisers, farmers, growers, and toilet providers across the United Kingdom, with university-validated performance equivalent to synthetic ammonium nitrate.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NPK Recovery industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Circular sanitation and bio-fertiliser services
- NAICS
- Fertilizer and Compost Manufacturing (32531)
- SIC
- Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fertilizer & Micronutrient Formulations (NPK blends, chelates, suspensions) (AFABAIAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- NPK/Compound & Blended Fertilizers (Granular Blends, Bulk Blending) (AFABABAD), Nutrient Recovery from Sludge (Struvite, Ammonia/Phosphorus Recovery) (EUANAHAD)
Keywords
Where NPK Recovery is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bristol
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
NPK Recovery business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Event Processing Services: NPK Recovery installs their transportable system at events to process urine on-site into fertiliser. They coordinate with event organizers and site crews for seamless integration.
- Fertiliser Sales to Farmers and Growers: Sell urine-derived liquid fertiliser to farmers and growers for crop production. UK agriculture consumes 2.4 million tonnes of fertiliser annually.
- Tankering Services: Alternative option where urine is removed from events and recycled at their Bristol-based lab for processing.
- Partner Integration Services: Partner with toilet providers (waterless urinals, compost toilets) to integrate urine processing into their service offerings, adding sustainability value.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom event-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
NPK Recovery product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NPK Recovery deploys mobile, modular processing units at events that use bacteria to convert human urine into a safe liquid fertiliser containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients. The fertiliser is sold to farmers and growers, and the company also offers tankering services to its Bristol lab and integration partnerships with toilet providers to enable circular sanitation at festivals, marathons and temporary sites.
Product overview
NPK Recovery operates a service-based business offering a modular, transportable urine-to-fertiliser system. The core offering consists of two integrated products: (1) the Urine-to-Fertiliser Processing Service, a mobile unit that converts urine into liquid fertiliser on-site at events, and (2) the resulting Urine-Derived Liquid Fertiliser product containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients. These are supported by add-on services including Event Sanitation Integration, Fertiliser Trial Programme, Toilet Provider Partnership, and Bristol Lab Processing options. The system uses bacteria-based nutrient recovery and heat treatment to produce a safe, sustainable fertiliser as an alternative to imported synthetic fertilisers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Urine-to-Fertiliser Processing Service A mobile, modular processing service that transforms urine collected at events into sustainable liquid fertiliser on-site, using bacteria to recover naturally occurring nutrients into a safe, tested fertiliser product. Targeted at event organisers, festivals, marathons and other temporary venues.
- Urine-Derived Liquid Fertiliser A liquid nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertiliser product with key micronutrients for crops, produced from human urine through nutrient recovery. Serves as a low-carbon, locally produced alternative to imported synthetic fertilisers for farmers and growers.
- Event Sanitation Integration Service On-site urine processing with flexible deployment at event sanitation infrastructure, including coordination with site crews and connection to various toilet units such as compost toilets and waterless urinals. For event organisers and festival operators.
- Toilet Provider Partnership Integration service for toilet providers offering modular systems compatible with waterless urinals and compost toilets, including data tracking and optional co-branding. For toilet and sanitation providers serving events and facilities.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100% of nitrogen entering the system is recovered
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use NPK Recovery
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
NPK Recovery technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
NPK Recovery partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Stump up for TreescoreCharity co-founded by author Robert Penn to increase tree numbers and species variety around Bannau Brycheiniog. Working with NPK Recovery on a three-year project to grow 4,500 native trees using urine-derived fertiliser. Have planted 500,000 trees to date.
- ComPOOst solutionscoreCollaborated with NPK Recovery at Boomtown Festival to convert urine from compost toilets into fertiliser. ComPOOst provided expertise in compost toilet solutions, with their system being connected to NPK's processing unit.
- AGF (A Greener Future)coreAward-winning not-for-profit company dedicated to helping events, festivals, tours and venues be more sustainable. AGF measured the environmental performance of the Boomtown pilot and found it technically feasible to generate usable fertiliser from festival waste streams.
- PEEQUALcorePEEQUAL is a women's event urinal company enabling people to urinate 2.7x faster compared to portaloos. They collaborated with NPK Recovery at the TCS London Marathon, providing urinals where 1,000 litres of urine was collected and recycled into fertiliser. Together they aim to recycle all urine from large-scale events.
- Royal Agricultural University (RAU)coreLeading agronomic research institution carrying out independent crop trials. Professor Nicola Cannon led collaborative trials finding NPK's fertiliser matched ammonium nitrate performance in wheat growth trials. RAU provides ongoing agronomic validation.
- UK Agri-Tech CentrecoreAgricultural technology centre involved in independent research alongside RAU and NPK Recovery, contributing to crop trials and evidence base for the bio-fertiliser.
- University of the West of EnglandcoreUniversity research team built evidence base for bio-fertiliser through mustard plant trials. Findings indicate bio-fertiliser caused increased chlorophyll levels vital for plant growth.
- London Marathon EventscoreOrganisers of the TCS London Marathon who partnered with NPK Recovery and PEEQUAL to implement urine recycling. Their Head of Sustainability stated commitment to finding 'onward use' for all waste generated at events.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
NPK Recovery competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Cambrian Innovation: US-based biotech that converts wastewater streams into useful products including fertiliser and clean water. Comparable emerging player applying biological/ecological treatment to recover nutrients and water from waste streams.
- Lombritek: European startup focused on converting organic waste streams (including human waste by-products) into bio-based fertilisers and soil amendments. Comparable emerging player pursuing biological pathways to displace synthetic fertilisers.
- Toopi Organics: French startup that ferments human urine into agricultural biostimulants and fertilisers. Comparable emerging player using biological processes to convert urine into value-added crop inputs, with a similar circular-economy value proposition aimed at replacing synthetic fertilisers.
- Terra NutriTech: Ireland-based company producing precision nutrient-delivery fertiliser products targeted at replacing synthetic inputs. Comparable emerging player in the sustainable/precision fertiliser space with overlapping farmer end-markets.
Broad incumbents
- Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies: Canada-headquartered company that recovers nutrients (including phosphorus and nitrogen) from wastewater streams and sells them as slow-release fertiliser. A broad incumbent in nutrient recovery that demonstrates the larger, industrial-scale pathway NPK's technology could face or align with.
- Veolia Environnement: Global environmental services and water/wastewater utility giant with large-scale nutrient recovery and biosolids-to-fertiliser operations. A broad incumbent that could compete with or partner alongside NPK Recovery at municipal scale.
- Suez Water Technologies & Solutions: Major water and waste management group operating sewage treatment and nutrient-recovery infrastructure across Europe. A broad incumbent whose established relationships with UK water companies represent both a competitive threat and a channel partner opportunity.
Others
- Compostable Company (formerly ComPOOst Solutions): UK provider of compost toilet solutions that collaborated with NPK Recovery at Boomtown Festival. Not a direct competitor but an upstream event-sanitation hardware partner whose units supply NPK's processing system.
- PEEQUAL: UK provider of women's event urinals that partnered with NPK Recovery at the TCS London Marathon. Not a direct competitor but an upstream/integrated hardware partner whose product feeds urine into NPK's processing system at events.
Direct peers
- Rich Earth Institute: A US-based nonprofit pioneering the collection and processing of human urine into agricultural fertiliser. Directly comparable as both organisations build the urine-to-fertiliser value chain, run university-backed agronomic trials, and supply farmers with recovered nutrients.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
NPK Recovery social profiles
Digital presenceNPK Recovery financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NPK Recovery leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
NPK Recovery funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NPK Recovery M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NPK Recovery
What does NPK Recovery do?
NPK Recovery deploys mobile, modular processing units at events that use bacteria to convert human urine into a safe liquid fertiliser containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients. The fertiliser is sold to farmers and growers, and the company also offers tankering services to its Bristol lab and integration partnerships with toilet providers to enable circular sanitation at festivals, marathons and temporary sites.
Is NPK Recovery a public or private company?
NPK Recovery is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was NPK Recovery founded?
NPK Recovery was founded in 2023. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is NPK Recovery based?
NPK Recovery is headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does NPK Recovery make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Event Processing Services are the primary driver. The others are fertiliser Sales to Farmers and Growers, tankering Services and partner Integration Services.
Who are NPK Recovery's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Cambrian Innovation, Lombritek, Toopi Organics and Terra NutriTech. Broad incumbents are Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies, Veolia Environnement and Suez Water Technologies & Solutions. Others are Compostable Company (formerly ComPOOst Solutions) and PEEQUAL. Rich Earth Institute is listed as a direct peer.
Does NPK Recovery have an API?
No public API is recorded for NPK Recovery.
What industry is NPK Recovery in?
NPK Recovery's product category is Circular sanitation and bio-fertiliser services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFABAIAB, Fertilizer & Micronutrient Formulations (NPK blends, chelates, suspensions), with a secondary code of AFABABAD, NPK/Compound & Blended Fertilizers (Granular Blends, Bulk Blending). Its NAICS code is 32531 and its SIC code is 700.