‘This is not a hippy thing’: the startup recycling urine to make natural fertiliser VunaNexus has developed a process to transform human urine into a certified mineral fertilizer named Aurin. This innovation aims to provide a sustainable alternative to conventional fertilizers, especially crucial given recent disruptions in the global fertilizer market and their impact on food security. The technology, originating from a project in South Africa, is now being implemented in buildings across Europe and tested in cities like Paris, Lausanne, and Zurich, with aspirations to make it affordable for global application, including its birthplace in Durban.

• VunaNexus recycles nutrients from human urine to create a certified mineral fertilizer called Aurin.
• The process involves collecting urine, removing micropollutants, concentrating nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, and pasteurizing the liquid to kill pathogens.
• Aurin is approved for use on all plants by Swiss and French authorities and is sold to farmers and gardeners.
• The war in Ukraine and resulting fertilizer price surges have increased interest in VunaNexus’s alternative.
• The technology is installed in buildings across Europe, with a significant project underway in Paris.
• The company originated from a project in South Africa focused on developing affordable sanitation and urine-based fertilizer.
• Economic viability remains a challenge, with production costs higher than synthetic fertilizers, but VunaNexus aims to scale up and be recognized for wastewater treatment services.
• Ongoing projects in Durban, South Africa, aim to establish urine collection systems and rehabilitate treatment plants to produce fertilizer.
• The ultimate goal is to make Aurin affordable enough to be produced in other parts of the world, including Durban.