Efforts to reduce nitrogen emissions and lessen reliance on imported soy are receiving financial backing through a €3.6 million investment in the Wageningen-based company Grassa. The company develops technology that enables dairy farmers to extract protein from grass, offering both an environmental and economic incentive. With support from Perspectieffonds Gelderland (PFG), managed by Oost NL, and existing investors Fransen Gerrits and Brightlands Venture Partners, Grassa aims to expand its operations and demonstrate the potential of its method at scale. The process also supports a shift toward locally produced vegetable protein suitable for human consumption.
A year ago, Grassa’s technology was primarily in the validation phase, with early trials focused on proving its ability to reduce nitrogen emissions by altering protein levels in grass. With this funding round, the company moves from small-scale demonstrations to a broader rollout involving dozens of dairy farms. While in earlier updates Grassa emphasized animal feed applications, the current strategy also prioritizes human consumption of extracted proteins, marking a larger scope for market application. This shift signals that the company is positioning itself to serve both agricultural and food sectors.
How does Grassa’s technology support sustainable farming?
Grassa’s process involves pressing, heating, and filtering grass into several outputs, one of which is protein-rich extract. The remaining grass, or “unlocked grass,” enhances digestibility for cows, helping reduce environmental emissions like ammonia and methane. Farmers using this method do not need to reduce herd sizes or incur additional costs, as the process improves nutrient absorption while retaining milk production levels.
By collaborating with between 25 and 50 dairy farmers, Grassa is testing the viability of extracting up to 50% of the protein from grass without affecting milk quality or yield. The extracted protein does not add to nitrogen content in manure, which supports broader goals of reducing agricultural nitrogen surpluses. The company offers guided presentations and facility tours in Afferden to educate stakeholders and increase transparency around the procedure.
How are investors reacting to this model?
Financial backers see the venture as a balanced solution that supports both environmental responsibility and farmer profitability.
“It helps to tackle the nitrogen problem, accelerates the transition to vegetable proteins and offers farmers new revenue models,”
stated Sindy Vreugdenhil, investment manager Food at Oost NL. The support from Perspectieffonds Gelderland aligns with their mission to strengthen sustainable agriculture in the region.
“As a feed producer, we are constantly looking for ways to feed animals more efficiently and reduce the footprint of meat, milk and eggs. With Grassa, we make better use of grass, which reduces the milk footprint and allows farmers to make better use of their grassland,”
noted Huub Fransen, CEO of Fransen Gerrits. Brightlands Venture Partners also highlighted the relevance of turning grass into plant-based protein, suggesting the innovation could meet domestic soy needs if scaled significantly.
CEO Rieks Smook provided specific projections about the potential impact of their solution:
“Every hectare processed results in approximately 35 M3 less manure sales; When processing 20 per cent of the Dutch, the manure surplus has disappeared. When processing 60 per cent, a quantity of grass protein is produced that can meet the entire Dutch soy demand.”
These calculations frame the technology as a scalable option to address issues tied to nitrogen overproduction and imported feed.
As the company expands its capabilities, a major consideration remains the cost-effectiveness and ease of adoption for farmers. With the growing scrutiny of agriculture’s environmental impact in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, Grassa’s technology offers a practical method of emission reduction that aligns with governmental and EU directives on nitrogen control. Understanding how such innovations can be leveraged at national scale is critical, especially in livestock-heavy regions where regulatory pressures are tightening.
