Phospholutions Inc., State College, Penn., a sustainable fertilizer technology developer, announced on July 6 additional investment from global agricultural companies to support commercialization of RhizoSorb® in the U.S. row crop market. The recent funding includes investment from Ospraie Ag Sciences (OAS), Bunge Ventures, the for-profit, global investment arm of Bunge Ltd. and UPL Ltd.
Phospholutions said that after extensive on-farm testing and almost 30 years of academic research, RhizoSorbis the first patented fertilizer additive proven to reduce phosphorus fertilizer applications by 50% without compromising yield.
It said the product increases the efficiency of applied and native soil phosphorus by releasing nutrients based on a chemical gradient in the soil, leading to better availability throughout the season. RhizoSorb has been tested on row crops including corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, sunflowers, chickpeas, rice, and turfgrass.
“RhizoSorb® is proven to deliver the same amount of phosphorus to the plant with half the amount of applied fertilizer,” said Founder and CEO Hunter Swisher. “Conventional fertilizers are inefficient, as less than 25% of phosphorus is taken up by the crop during the growing season.
“With recent increases in fertilizer prices and supply constraints in key global markets, farmers urgently need proven solutions to help maximize the return on input costs,” he added. “This investment helps accelerate our commercial launch by supporting this year’s commercial trial program, strategic development partnerships, and enables product to be delivered to the U.S. row crop market for the 2023 growing season.”
This new investment series follows the Series A totaling $10.3 million announced early last year (GM Jan. 22, 2021) which allowed Phospholutions to more than triple in size. At the time, the investments were led by Continental Grain Co., with participation from Tekfen Ventures, Maumee Ventures, Ag Ventures Alliance, and 1855 Capital.
A $1.5 million investment in 2019 by 1855 Capital and Maumee Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of The Andersons Inc., helped launch the product (GM June 14, 2019). Additionally, Phospholutions recently won a $250,000 investment during The Radicle Challenge by UPL.
Late last year, Phospholutions was also chosen as one of the first five companies selected for the Farm2050 Nutrient Technology Trialing Platform in New Zealand, organized by Finistere Ventures and Innovations Endeavors. New Zealand will join Canada, the U.S., Turkey, India, Brazil, and Africa on the list of global RhizoSorb trial locations planned for 2022.
In the U.S., Phospholutions will continue their partnership with St. Louis-based digital ag company IN10T as they expand their field trial reach to up to 130 additional corn fields across 12 states in the U.S. in 2022 and include farms within the entire Midwest market.