VunaNexus: The Venture Leader Cleantech recycling urine nutrients into natural fertilizers

13.10.2023 15:45, Rita Longobardi

Meet David de Chambrier, Co-Founder of VunaNexus. The startup offers a turn-key onsite urine treatment solution that generates revenue for building owners and reduces CO2 emissions.

Name: David de Chambrier
Location: Zürich
Nationality: Switzerland
Graduated from: ETH & IED
Job title: Co-Founder
Number of employees: 4
Money raised: 1.5m
First touchpoint with Venturelab: 2021


Can you tell us who your product or solution helps, and how?
Wastewater treatment has evolved but faces limitations due to mixing excreta with drinking water and not recycling crucial nutrients. Most wastewater is water with only 1% urine, yet urine contains up to 80% of compounds treated by wastewater plants (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, pharmaceuticals). Efficient recycling should happen upstream, like with PET or batteries. Our product, a small basement wastewater treatment plant, uses patented tech to recycle urine nutrients and remove pollutants, reducing ammonia and N2O emissions. It produces safe NPK fertilizer locally. We're also optimizing for animal urine on Swiss swine farms, treating 3000+ litres daily.

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
Our primary focus lies within densely populated urban hubs, where wastewater treatment facilities frequently operate at full capacity. Metropolises such as Paris, where we are actively engaged in numerous initiatives, seek remedies to supplement their ageing infrastructure. Our wastewater treatment facilities are also currently being implemented at swine farms, with the primary objectives of significantly curtailing ammonia emissions, mitigating groundwater contamination, and enhancing animal well-being. Amidst the worldwide nutrient crisis, European nations are awakening to their reliance on synthetically produced fertilizers manufactured in environmentally unsustainable distant locations. Consequently, there is a growing impetus to efficiently recycle the available local nutrient resources.

How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?
Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, has been doing research on source separation and nutrient recycling for more than 15 years. In 2010 the VUNA research Project aimed at recovering nutrients from urine in South Africa, and after a few more years of product development, the demand for local fertilisers and decentralised treatment plants pushed us to create VunaNexus AG to bring the technology to market.

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders Cleantech roadshow, and how will it help you achieve your vision?
Germany holds a pivotal position within our market strategy, given our ongoing engagement in local projects. Currently, our presence is marked by the Horizon Europe initiative, P2Green, situated in Hannover, as well as active participation in the ZirkulierBAR project within the Berlin region. The intensive agricultural sector in Germany is currently producing noteworthy levels of ammonia emissions, a challenge we may focus on addressing in the times ahead.

What are your team’s key achievements to date?
Installing a treatment plant at the European Space Agency in Paris undoubtedly marks a fantastic accomplishment for our team. Moreover, we take great pride in achieving the certification of the world's exclusive urine-based NPK fertilizer in Switzerland and Austria. This achievement was particularly challenging due to the intricate legislative situation surrounding our fertilizer, Aurin.

What is the most challenging and rewarding aspect of being a founder?
The primary challenge involves the allocation of our available resources. We must make decisions about prioritizing specific technological aspects over others, even though we desire to address everything simultaneously. Conversely, the most gratifying aspect for us is observing the awe of individuals who visit our installations and come to the realization that 5000 litres of nitrified urine have no odour whatsoever. Furthermore, the straightforwardness of managing these installations becomes apparent, contributing to their sense of amazement.

What is the most important lesson you have learned as a founder?
Frugality is key in our business. Such technologies can’t be rushed into the market and we have to accept that sale cycles can be long. Our primary goal is to demonstrate that local nutrient recycling can be financially viable. As a result, we are diligently striving to maximize profitability and aiming to rely on external funding as little as possible.

What is your favourite productivity hack/tool and why?
I have a love-hate relationship with Odoo. It is an extremely powerful tool for a reasonable price. I would recommend every founder to at least have a go at it. It is not as sexy as other tools, but from experience, setting up a fully integrated ERP early will save us from headaches further down the line.

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ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Venture Leaders Cleantech 2023 were chosen from over 90 applications by an expert jury. The roadshow in Munich will accelerate their ventures’ growth and expand their international presence. Venture Leaders Cleantech is organized by Venturelab and supported by EPFL Lausanne, ETH Zurich, EY, Helbling Technik, Romande Energie, St.Gallisch-Appenzellische Kraftwerke (SAK), Swisscom Ventures, Vaud, and Vischer.