Climate tech company Nitricity has secured $50 million in Series B funding to accelerate its expansion across the U.S. and Europe. The round was co-led by World Fund—marking its first U.S. investment—and returning investor Khosla Ventures, with additional participation from Chipotle’s Cultivate Next fund, Change Forces, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, EIP, and Fine Structure Ventures.
The funding comes just ahead of the groundbreaking for Nitricity’s first commercial-scale organic fertilizer plant in Delhi, California. Scheduled to begin operations in 2026, the facility will increase production capacity 100-fold and is already fully sold out through 2028 under binding agreements with local organic growers.
Nitricity’s flagship product, Ash Tea, is a liquid organic nitrogen fertilizer made from recycled almond shells, air, water, and renewable energy. It’s pathogen-free, animal-product-free, and designed to flow easily through irrigation systems. Field trials have shown up to a 30% increase in crop yields, and every ounce of current production is already commissioned.
The company’s technology provides a sustainable alternative to traditional fertilizers produced through the Haber-Bosch process, which accounts for approximately 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Nitricity’s approach reduces emissions by up to 92% and avoids the environmental damage associated with synthetic fertilizers.
Founded in 2018 by Stanford graduates Dr. Nicolas Pinkowski, Dr. Joshua McEnaney, and Dr. Jay Schwalbe, Nitricity began with a solar-powered prototype tested on a lemon tree. Today, its pilot facility in Fremont produces 80 tons of fertilizer annually, supporting around 80 acres of crops. With over $150 million in its sales pipeline, the company is scaling rapidly to meet growing demand.
How the funding will be used: This funding round will be used to support hiring, R&D, and European expansion, where Nitricity plans to use local agricultural waste—such as olive oil byproducts—to power regional fertilizer production. The company aims to serve high-value fruit markets and eventually expand into crops like corn and wheat.
KEY QUOTES:
“This is an inflection point for Nitricity. We’re scaling across the US and we’re very excited to expand into Europe in a serious and assertive way. The European market for our organic fertilizer is even larger than in the US, and demand is only growing against a backdrop of European governments looking to boost resilience and create circular agriculture economies. We offer an exceptional organic, circular solution for the market.”
“We started out as grad students with a $5000 CalTech grant and a plan. Now, we have more customers than we can supply, so it’s about scaling to cater to that demand. We are thrilled to welcome new investors and deepen our partnerships with existing investors. Raising this capital is an enormous vote of confidence in Nitricity and our product, and having a prominent European investor in our syndicate will dramatically speed up our ability to connect with local partners and customers.”
Dr. Nicolas Pinkowski, Nitricity co-founder and CEO
“The Haber-Bosch process typically sees around 60-70% of nitrogen applied to crops get lost. This cannot continue. Our calculations show Nitricity’s brilliant, price-competitive sustainable, organic alternative provides an <92% reduction in emissions on average. As the EU looks to meet sustainability and organic requirements, demand for Nitricity’s solution is only rising, and we are proud to be supporting Nicholas and the team as they scale into Europe and beyond.”
Dr Nadine Geiser, Principal at World Fund
“Nitricity’s commitment to producing fertilizer that is optimized for farmers compliments Chipotle’s approach to Food with Integrity. Since our initial investment in 2023, we’ve seen continued innovation and believe the new facility and expanded team will enable Nitricity to scale their climate-smart technology and support growers globally.”
Curt Garner, President, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at Chipotle
“Fertilizer production hasn’t changed in over a century — it’s complex, expensive, and vulnerable to global supply shocks. Nitricity is taking a fundamentally different approach with a modular system that turns almond shells, air and water directly into organic fertilizer. Since investing in 2022, Nico and the team have made impressive progress, securing premium offtake agreements and preparing to break ground on a first-of-a-kind plant. This kind of innovation is what it takes to transform the global agriculture system.”
Rajesh Swaminathan, Partner at Khosla Ventures
