PRESS RELEASE
- Marketing approval from regulatory agencies in France and Europe
- A unique proprietary technology for regenerative and circular agriculture
- An expected volume of 3.75 million liters of urine collected in 2027, a first milestone for exponential growth over the following years
Loupiac-de-la-Réole (France), October 24th, 2022 – TOOPI Organics, a start-up company certified by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, specializing in the transformation and valorization of human urine into agricultural biosolutions, announced today the launch of Lactopi StartTM in France and Europe, the world’s first urine-sourced biostimulant for agriculture. This first product is being marketed in France following marketing approval from ANSES and authorizations issued in five other European countries: Belgium, Greece, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.
Lactopi StartTM is the result of Toopi Organics’ research and its unique patented fermentation process. It improves the efficiency of soil phosphorus assimilation. Through its additional root stimulation effect, it also supports the growth of seedlings and thus secures access to water and nutrients while preserving soil quality. Produced in a circular economy from an inexhaustible resource, Lactopi StartTM can be used up to 25L/ha, preferably at the beginning of the plant growth, on many crops in a farmer’s rotation.
A frugal fermentation technology for a more sustainable agriculture
To achieve this world first, TOOPI Organics has scientifically demonstrated the value of using urine as a complete fermentative medium to produce microbial biosolutions. Naturally rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and growth factors, urine plays a nutritive role in the production of microbial biomass of agronomic interest.
To produce Lactopi StartTM, the collected urine is first stabilized and then hygienized. Selected by TOOPI Organics research for its interest in plant biostimulation, a specific strain of Lactobacillus paracasei is then multiplied in the urine-sourced medium inside proprietary biofermenters. The final liquid formulation of Lactopi StartTM is packaged for marketing in traditional agricultural distribution networks. Thirty or so trials in experimental plots and in real field conditions have demonstrated the benefits of Lactopi StartTM on the assimilation of mineral elements present in soils, in particular phosphorus, which allows for less dependence on synthetic mineral fertilizers while preserving the potential of plants and soil life.
Michael Roes, Founder of TOOPI Organics and Alexandra Carpentier, CEO, explained:
“The approval by European health agencies for commercialization of our first urine-sourced solution Lactopi StartTM is a major step in our development. TOOPI Organics is now moving from an R&D company to a venture with extraordinary commercial prospects. Our entire annual production, i.e., 250,000 liters, has already been sold in France and Belgium. The idea of using urine as a fertilizer is not new, but the idea of TOOPI Organics is totally innovative: urine is no longer used as a fertilizer, but as a culture medium for microorganisms that improve the plants’ capacity to absorb nutrients naturally present in nature. TOOPI Organics stands out by taking up a double challenge: collecting and using a waste product, urine, to make an approved agricultural product that meets the strictest regulatory requirements, while at the same time saving drinking water from flushing toilets. In the fertilizer market, which is particularly tense and in search of innovations, our solution provides considerable technical and economic benefits while ensuring the closing of nutrient cycles, the only real solution to guarantee our agricultural and food sovereignty.”
After signing partnerships with buildings that receive the public (companies, schools, colleges, high schools, gas stations, tourist facilities, stadiums, festivals, trade shows, construction sites, etc.), TOOPI Organics replaces conventional sanitary facilities with waterless male and female urinals connected to collection tanks, without using additional water for evacuation. TOOPI Organics already collects urine from amusements parks, freeway service areas, secondary schools, and rock festivals.
A virtuous and profitable case study in the circular economy
The supply of urine is done in a local channel (or circular economy). Committed to developing a urine recycling and recovery network, TOOPI Organics relies on regional partnerships with toilet manufacturers, design offices and installers. Once produced in its processing plant, based in Gironde, Lactopi StartTM is delivered to farmers through their distributors, cooperatives or other agribusiness
An ambitious development plan in Europe
TOOPI Organics already has contracts for the collection of 2 million liters of urine, covering production for the next 3 years. Within five years, the company expects to collect 3.75 million liters of urine per year and sell the same volume of products. At that time, the company plans to have a processing activity spread over 7 facilities in France and Belgium, while the development objective is 20 sites in France (one per metropolis). Since its creation in 2019, the company has raised €8.8 million, including €4.5 million in grants or repayable advances. To support its business plan, TOOPI Organics is working on closing a Series A investment round.
Key figures
# The European population discharges 240 billion liters of urine per year.
# 6,000 billion liters of drinking water are fIushed down the toilet, which are then treated in energy-intensive wastewater treatment plants.
# Less than 25L of Lactopi Start will be needed to improve plant nutrition by up to 50%.
# The carbon footprint of 1L of Lactopi Start represents only 0.08 keq.CO2, i.e., 50 to 150 times less than 1 kg of mineral fertilizer
# 1L of urine is transformed into 1L of Lactopi Start product, no waste is generated
About TOOPI Organics
TOOPI Organics is a greentech start-up specializing in recycling, transforming, and turning human urine into a sustainable resource for agriculture and industry. Founded in 2019 and based in Gironde, the company has received more than 20 national and international awards. Supported by the BPI, ADEME and the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region, TOOPI Organics is strongly committed to the ecological transition, which is why it was selected by the French government in the French Tech-Green20 and Agri 20 programs. Its capital is held by its founder, its managers, and by the investors IRDI, Mana II, All Sun, and Make Sense for the largest. More information: www.toopi-organics.com
Press contacts:
TOOPI Organics / Sarah Fondeville / 07 82 51 80 91 / s.fondeville@toopi-organics.com
Ulysse Communication / Bruno Arabian / +33 (0) 6 87 88 47 36 / barabian@ulysse-communication.com/ Salma Belabes / +33 (0) 6 16 83 33 20 / sbelabes@ulysse-communication.com
