Interview: Annija Emersone & P-Agro Minerals

The interview with Annija Emersone, founder of P-Agro Minerals from Latvia. 

P-Agro develops and manufactures an environmentally friendly mineral material called Letonite, specifically designed to facilitate phosphorus (P) recovery from wastewater.

You can listen to the episode with Annija Emersone in EmpoWomen Podcast on Spotify:

Or read the interview.

Pitching P-Agro Minerals

When we talk about wastewater, most people think of it as something dirty and foul-smelling. However, not everyone realizes that wastewater holds a wealth of valuable resources. It’s astonishing to learn that every year, a tremendous amount of phosphorus—a vital nutrient—is discharged into wastewater streams across Europe. This not only pollutes our waters, oceans, and rivers but also results in the loss of an enormous quantity of an essential nutrient.

At P-Agro Minerals, we’ve developed technology that purifies water in wastewater treatment plants. But we don’t stop there—we also capture the valuable nutrients, like phosphorus, from the water and turn them into fertilizer. Since last year, we’ve been focused on developing our prototype, validating our technology in industrial settings, and preparing for our first partnerships and pilot demonstrations next year.

What sets our technology apart is its foundation on natural mineral resources. With this approach, we’re not only able to recover phosphorus but also contribute to reducing water pollution on a global scale.

Story Behind the Innovation

The story began at a university a few years ago, around 2018 and 2019. Scientists were exploring how to use local and natural materials to combat water pollution and ensure circularity in industry, so that valuable resources aren’t lost.

Several Latvian universities collaborated on this research. In early 2022, one of our team members, scientist Juris Kostikos, discovered a material that is not only abundant in Europe but can also be found in Latvia. This natural material has remarkable abilities to capture phosphorus and is highly beneficial for use in soil as a fertilizer.

The science behind this discovery is rooted in extensive research. However, we’re not just a university project—we’re a startup. Our mission is to bring this incredible material into practical use in the real world.

How It Works

Letonine is a new material, and only we know how to prepare it to achieve its unique ability to capture phosphorus. Our material is used in a water filter that is placed directly into the water. I often compare it to a teabag—you put it in a cup and then take it out. Our technology works similarly: we place the filter in a wastewater stream at a treatment plant, where it cleans the water and simultaneously captures phosphorus.

After minimal treatment, the captured phosphorus can be packaged and sold as fertilizer, completing the cycle.

P-Agro Minerals Team

In our scientific research and in building the company, we have established a strong core team. We have two scientists on the team, Jūlija Karasa and Rūta Ozola-Davidāne, both of whom work closely with our key mineral material, latonite. 

One of them focuses on optimizing the filter system — preparing and producing the mineral to maximize its efficiency in cleaning water and capturing phosphorus. The other scientist is dedicated to the next step: once the phosphorus is captured from wastewater, how should it be packaged? She researches the best compositions, packaging methods, and the types of fertilizers that are typically accepted by the industry, considering factors like size and what farmers are actually looking for when adopting new fertilizers.

Additionally, our team includes scientist Juris Kostikos, who plays a key role in guiding us through the technological challenges. Our Chief Technology Officer, Solvita Kostjukova, brings over 15 years of experience in scaling deep-tech technologies. She is highly skilled in technology transfer and is instrumental in both the technical aspects and the commercialization of our science.

Lastly, our Head of Marketing and Sales, Dāvids Štēbelis, has extensive experience with deep-tech startups, contributing valuable knowledge in business development.

The Biggest Challenges for P-Agro Minerals

I can divide our challenges into two main sections: the challenges of the business itself, including both the technical and business aspects, and my personal challenges as the leader of the team and CEO of the company.

On the business and technological side, we’ve been active for about two to two and a half years. One of our biggest challenges is scaling. We are working with deep tech, which means our technology is rooted in science and involves mineral materials. With each prototype we develop, we scale gradually. Currently, we can clean and purify a few cubic liters of water. Next year, we aim to scale the technology further to handle larger volumes. So, a key challenge is not only making the technology work but also scaling it effectively.

We have identified our target industries and potential client segments. However, we still need to focus and narrow down our search for our first clients. Validating the technology from both a technological and customer perspective is another major challenge. This year, one of our key objectives is to define our customer segment more precisely.

On the personal side, I’ve never worked with a team of scientists before, which has been both fascinating and challenging. Scientists often have different work cultures and motivations, so it has been a learning experience to figure out how best to motivate them. Being in a scientific environment is incredibly interesting, but it also presents unique challenges. There’s a lot of work ahead, but also a lot of progress to be made.

Latvia and Its Business Environment For Women

I have to say that the industry we’re working in — water treatment and water innovation technologies—is quite male-dominated. It’s traditionally seen as a “men’s industry.” As a mostly female team, we anticipate potential challenges when we begin selling our technology and collaborating with the industry, both in Latvia and internationally, given its conservative and traditional nature.

When it comes to Latvia, I wouldn’t say I have extensive experience, but from my perspective as someone building a new company, I’ve noticed that most of my peers in Latvia who are also building startups are men. For a long time, before I joined the Empower Women Network, most of the support I received came from male leaders. This influenced how I observed approaches to work, relationships, and startup building. The startup ecosystem around me has been male-dominated. This is something I’ve consistently noticed at various conferences, events, and especially in technology and water technology events, where there are few female-led companies.

EmpoWomen Programme

Before joining EmpoWomen, most of my interactions and advice came from men within the startup ecosystem. After joining this network, I’ve felt genuine support from female business leaders. This support is invaluable because, while we share common challenges, discussing them with women feels different. It’s more natural, and we often find common ground more quickly. The conversations flow differently compared to those with men, and in many cases, they feel more organic.

This experience has inspired me to think about how we can create a similar community of female leaders, network, and support in Latvia. Together with my colleague Solvita, we’ve noticed that there hasn’t been a strong support network for women leading startups, especially deep-tech startups, in Latvia for a long time. We’d like to initiate and build such a network here. While there are some events from time to time, we believe there’s a missed opportunity to create something more consistent.

From my own experience, having this kind of network — where people understand the unique challenges you face, whether it’s reaching business milestones, securing patents, or expanding market reach — can make a significant difference. One of our challenges is that our primary market isn’t in the Baltics but in other European countries. As a result, one of our ambitions is to find an industrial partner in countries like Germany or the Netherlands, where we can validate our technology.

Next Steps

We are aiming for a pilot demonstration in 2025, which is a significant milestone we’re working toward. Another important milestone, perhaps a bit further down the line, is to see the circularity of our technology fully in action. This means validating our filter so we can confidently recover phosphorus, purify water, and provide value to wastewater treatment plants with our technology. We also want to demonstrate how the recovered phosphorus can be effectively applied as a fertilizer.

In the next few years, our focus will be on achieving this technological validation, proving that our material works and can complete the full cycle. To do this, we need industrial partnerships. We are actively seeking partnerships and testing sites, particularly with wastewater treatment plants and relevant industries that are willing to be pioneers in testing our technology.

If you are part of a wastewater treatment plant, a relevant company, or a manufacturing industry — or if you know someone who is — looking for ways to purify water or is interested in fertilizers made from recycled nutrients like phosphorus, we’d love to chat.