From prototype to the more powerful pilot device with LIAA support
Latvian knowledge-intensive start-up P-Agro Minerals is developing a technology that enables the removal of phosphorus from wastewater and the reuse of the recovered resources in agriculture. The company’s solution is based on a mineral material – letonite – which binds phosphorus present in water during the filtration process. In collaboration with water works company Ādažu ūdens, the company is currently testing a pilot plant, which is capable of treating up to 20 cubic metres of wastewater per day. The company plans to commercialise the technology within the next two to three years.
In developing the technology, P-Agro Minerals has also the support instruments offered by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA). The company has completed its first year in the business incubation programme run by the LIAA office in Saldus, where the support provided has helped it to develop a new, significantly more powerful pilot plant.
“Just a year ago, our prototype was capable of treating around one cubic metre of wastewater per day, but with the support of the incubation programme, we have developed a next-generation unit capable of treating up to 20 cubic metres per day. For a knowledge-intensive company, this funding is particularly important, as the first product to be launched on the market must undergo several stages of research, testing and scaling up,” explains Annija Emersone, CEO of P-Agro Minerals.
Meanwhile, the company has used the LIAA innovation voucher to continue developing its second product – a phosphorus-enriched soil improver. As the company was unable to find the necessary specialist research expertise in Latvia, it began collaborating with the Austrian Institute of Technology. During the project, which lasted around half a year, the properties and suitability for agricultural use of phosphorus recovered from wastewater were investigated, including greenhouse trials and the cultivation of tomatoes.
“The innovation voucher helped us gain the knowledge needed to understand exactly what the material recovered from wastewater is, how the phosphorus in it becomes available to plants, and for which crops and soils it might be most suitable,” Ms Emersone explains.
The company also views the practical, i. e., bureaucratic, side of using state support instruments positively overall; with the help of LIAA’s advice, they managed to successfully meet all the requirements.
“At first, the extensive documentation and forms could have been confusing, but we had a dedicated LIAA consultant who, in a very personable and understandable way, helped us to understand the application process. She explained how to put together the application, what information the evaluation committee needed to receive, and what we should focus on. Overall, our experience with LIAA has been very positive,” Ms Emersone emphasises.
Information material prepared with the support of the European Regional Development Fund
