Toopi Organics secures €16M to flood European agricultural markets with urine-based biostimulants

Toopi Organics, a French biotechnology startup developing plant biostimulants derived from the fermentation of human urine, announces the closing of a €16M ($17M) financing round. The fresh capital will be used to expand the company’s urine collection network, launch 3 new urine-based products in EU, and establish two industrial sites, in France and Belgium, in order to reach a transformation capacity exceeding 2 million liters of urine per year by 2027.

This series A financing round was led by VisVires New Protein, a global fund supporting ambitious teams developing transformative solutions for a healthier, safer, and more regenerative agri-food system, alongside European impact funds Edaphon, Noshaq and MAIF Impact, as well as BNP Paribas Développement. Existing investors, including IRDI, JOHES, and MakeSense, also participated.

In addition to attracting €11M in equity, Toopi Organics secured €5M of non-dilutive funding. Creating new opportunities for water conservation and for the transition to a more sustainable and resilient farming model in the EU, the company obtained a €3,8M impact grant from the French government (ADEME) and a €1,1M grant from Bpifrance.

″With this fundraise, our goal is to deploy a range of urine-based biostimulants across 600,000 hectares of crops in Europe in 2027. Over the past 3 years, our first product – the Lactopi Start – underwent over 40 agronomic trials. It is now approved, including for use in organic agriculture, and thus provides a straightforward solution to reduce the EU dependence on phosphate fertilizer imports. For farmers, it means preserved yields, reduced overall fertilization costs, and low carbon footprint. The product was very well received in Belgium this year, with very encouraging field results from clients, which bodes well for the distribution campaign in France, which is starting now.″ Alexandra Carpentier, CEO of Toopi Organics.

″Within 3 years, Toopi Organics set up a unique human urine collection network in France, through partnerships with major players such as Vinci Highways for motorway rest areas, and EU-wide toilet rental company WC Loc for music festivals. The team also achieved a tour de force, obtaining market approvals in 6 EU member states for a first-in-class microbial biostimulant, based on the fermentation of human urine. This financing round really marks the transition from startup to scale-up, with exciting milestones in terms of industrialization, market adoption, and environmental impact.″ Marie-Anne Dupin, Partner, VisVires New Protein.

″Ending urination in drinking water, and seeing urine as a natural resource, were seen as funny, offbeat ideas when Toopi started out in 2019. Since, a scientific consensus on the benefits of human urine diversion and upcycling has emerged. The war in Ukraine led to unprecedented fertilizer shortages in 2022, with prices skyrocketing by up to 300%. There were droughts of course, with for instance water restrictions starting in March in France this year. With our technology, we finally provide a viable economic model to human urine upcycling for agriculture. Now, with this new consortium of international investors, our ambition is to go fast and far, in Europe and elsewhere.″ Michael Roes, Founder and President of Toopi Organics.

About Toopi Organics

Toopi Organics is a high-impact biotechnology company specializing in the collection and transformation of human urine into microbial plant biostimulants for agricultural use. Founded in February 2019 in the South-West of France, Toopi Organics now has a team of 27 employees across France and Belgium. Currently expanding its urine collection network (highway rest areas, music festivals, public buildings and theme parks) and renforcing its production capacities, the company aims to distribute over 2 million liters of urine-based biostimulants in Europe in 2027.

Expanding to Europe and the US

All over the world, growers are in search of solutions to their crop protection challenges. Andre: ″We want to contribute to more sustainable agriculture everywhere. Currently, we are extending our grower-centric approach to Europe and the United States and leveraging our knowledge and experience to deliver solutions that benefit the grower and the environment.″ Andre will join the Koppert team in the US. ″We will be working with universities to evaluate growers’ top challenges in different states, tailoring our portfolio to their needs and conducting trials to determine the efficacy of our solutions in target crops and in a range of conditions. Our initial focus will be on corn and soybean, both major US commodities. It's the same mindset and same goal: to grow the adoption of biological crop protection methods and contribute to a sustainable future in agriculture by empowering growers.″