Nutrient Platform joins partnership to map transition to circular, climate-neutral fertilisers by 2050

Launched at the end of 2025, the PPS 'Towards circular and climate-neutral fertilisers’ brings together twenty organisations from industry, government and research to map practical steps towards fully circular fertilisers by 2050. The Nutrient Platform contributes through dissemination and cross-sectoral knowledge sharing.

Cross-sectoral challenge requires cross-sectoral solutions

The transition to circular fertilisers cannot happen within a single sector. Manure processors, biogas producers and also water utilities manage streams containing recoverable nutrients. Agricultural cooperatives understand farmer needs and agronomic requirements, chemical companies possess production expertise, and waste processors handle organic residues. Each holds part of the solution, but these actors rarely work together systematically.

This is where the Nutrient Platform plays a distinctive role. The Platform brings together Dutch organisations from the water, agriculture and waste sectors, and the chemical industry, to close nutrient cycles. Members collaborate with government, businesses, knowledge institutes and NGOs to accelerate the transition towards sustainable nutrient management by creating a market for recycled nutrients. 

NWP hosts the Nutrient Platform’s Secretariat. In this role, NWP supports the agreed strategy, facilitates communication between the Platform’s members, and coordinates its initiatives. The Platform's involvement in this new PPS reflects the growing recognition that the fertiliser transition requires collaboration across traditional sector boundaries.

What this partnership aims to deliver

The consortium of this new public-private partnership is led by BO Akkerbouw and coordinated by Wageningen Social and Economic Research (WSER). It brings together twenty organisations from industry, government and research institutes to develop fertilisers that contribute to reduced CO₂ emissions, improved soil and water management, and a circular agricultural system by 2050. The project is structured around three interconnected packages.

The first work package drafts a programme of user requirements for climate neutral and circular fertilisers. The package is coordinated by Wageningen Social and Economic Research (WSER) and the Nutrient Management Institute (NMI), and examines current fertiliser use, regulatory frameworks and farmer needs to identify the steps required for transitioning to climate-neutral and circular fertilisers by 2050.

The second package develops a sustainability assessment tool. Led by WSER and Meststoffen Nederland, this instrument enables market actors to compare the environmental performance of different fertilisers based on verified criteria. The tool aims to build support across the value chain for using sustainability metrics in pricing decisions.

The third package demonstrates circular fertilisers through field trials. Under NMI's coordination, practical experiments provide insights into agronomic performance, value chain collaboration and sustainability benefits.

Within this partnership, the Nutrient Platform's contribution focuses on knowledge sharing and dissemination, ensuring that research findings reach the actors who can apply them.

Partnership structure and funding

The partnership runs until mid-2028 and received EUR 1.2 million in funding from Topsector Agri & Food and the consortium's private sector partners, including: Agri Technics Projects, Bio Energy Coevorden, BVOR, Cumela, Glastuinbouw Nederland, Groot Zevert Vergisting, Hanskamp Agrotech BV, HAS Green Academy, Meststoffen Nederland, Nutrient Platform, Platform Groen Gas, Producenten Organisatie Varkenshouderij, Provincie Gelderland, Provincie Limburg, Provincie Noord-Brabant, Twente Energy and Zuivel NL.

The initiative builds on the earlier Moonshot Fossil-Free Fertilisers and responds to a call from Topsector Agri & Food for proposals that contribute to a systemic transition towards fossil-free, circular fertilisers.

Connecting knowledge to practice

The project links knowledge development directly to practical application across the entire value chain, from producer to farmer. Through collaboration, field demonstrations and knowledge exchange, the consortium aims to build support for sustainable alternatives suited to future agriculture.

The three work packages address user needs, develop practical assessment frameworks and demonstrate solutions in real-world conditions. This approach creates the evidence base needed to move circular and climate-neutral fertilisers from experimental pilots towards broader implementation.

Learn more about the Nutrient Platform at www.nutrientplatform.org.