Agtech start-up Pivot Bio nets US$100 million for “cleaner nitrogen” technology

01 May 2020 --- Pivot Bio has closed its $100 million Series C funding round and will now accelerate plans to scale its first-to-market microbial nitrogen technology that aims to increase crop yields and farmer revenue. The technology will also aid in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and global energy use related to the US$65 billion global synthetic nitrogen fertilizer market.

An alternative to synthetic nitrogen, Pivot Bio Proven is the company’s inaugural product for corn and is pegged as delivering more nitrogen into the crop than synthetic nitrogen, translating to an average of 5.8 bushels per acre advantage when compared to fields using only synthetic nitrogen in 2019. Agriculture will simultaneously achieve more consistent yields and eliminate one gigaton of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions.

Additionally, water-borne nitrates will be reduced, avoiding an estimated US$4.1 billion in US water purification costs and significantly reducing the dead zones in oceans, notes the agritech start-up. These reductions are driven by Pivot Bio helping farmers shrink their use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer by at least 100 million metric tons over the coming decade.

“Growers and our planet deserve a better fertilizer - one that balances on-farm economics with the farmer’s commitment to leave the land better for the next generation,” says Karsten Temme, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder of Pivot Bio. “The strong backing by our Series C investors enables Pivot Bio to redefine the future of fertilizer and provide the world’s farmers with a new nitrogen source. Based on remarkable demand, we expect to ramp up from our large current footprint to millions of additional acres in the next growing season.”

Pivot Bio Proven, which is in its second year of commercialization, has again sold out and is used on hundreds of thousands of acres of US corn as farmers seek cleaner nitrogen technology that can increase their profitability. Pivot Bio will deploy Series C capital to rapidly expand internationally. It will soon be available to Argentinian corn farmers, and Pivot Bio will launch on-farm corn trials for Canadian growers. Earlier this spring, the company launched its inaugural product for US wheat crops, Pivot Bio Return, through a limited, early-adopter program.

The Series C round was co-led by return investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures and global investment company Temasek. Seed and Series A lead and Series B investor, DCVC, also participated in the round. 

“Pivot Bio’s microbial nitrogen fertilizers are revolutionizing how farmers apply nitrogen to their crops and we’re excited to continue our investment to support this important mission,” says Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures. 

Manufactured, sold and distributed to farmers in a radically different model from traditional synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, Pivot Bio’s approach uses significantly less energy than the manufacturing of synthetic fertilizer, eliminates 99.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions during its production, and is delivered through regular shipping carriers. This model eliminates the costly infrastructure of factories, pipelines, barges, and storage at brick-and-mortar retail locations. Instead, local agronomic advisors can use a mobile app to order and schedule on-demand delivery as they help farmers plan their nutrient management strategy.

Edited by Gaynor Selby