Advanced organic waste treatment and resource recovery company Bion Environmental Technologies Inc. (BNET:OTCQB) announced it has finished testing its Ammonia Recovery System (ARS) at its Fair Oaks testing facility in Indiana.
The company said it has submitted the data to support an independent engineering report on the technology and is ready to proceed with the final design and installation of full-scale commercial systems.
"Our Fair Oaks' success caps over 12 years of R&D on our third-generation technology," Bion Chief Executive Officer Craig Scott said. "That we achieved it is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our team and the support of our shareholders."
The organic food industry is the fastest-growing segment of U.S. agriculture, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, something typically called the "organic yield gap" can lower the productivity of those farms.
A lack of readily available nitrogen, like the synthetic nitrogen fertilizer used in conventional farming, is a big reason why organic farming produces fewer pounds per acre. Organic crops don’t get that extra "blast" of growth their conventional counterparts get — that's why organic fruit and produce is usually smaller, the company said. It also leads to a higher carbon footprint for organic foods.
In Talks With Fertilizer Producers
Bion's ARS processes and treats livestock waste streams with a focus on discharges from anaerobic digesters. It's at the core of the company's Gen3Tech technology, which produces renewable energy and clean water from livestock waste streams and removes the ammonia, then stabilizes and repurposes it into low-carbon and organic nitrogen fertilizers using only the compounds in the waste stream itself, creating the readily available organic nitrogen fertilizer that growers need to improve yields.
This summer, Bion announced its "pure" commercial nitrogen fertilizer produced from livestock waste is now OMRI-listed for use in organic production. Bion's ammonium bicarbonate fertilizer is a stable source of nitrogen upcycled from reactive ammonia in organic waste streams in a patented process. OMRI is an international nonprofit organization that lists products allowed for use in organic production under the USDA's National Organic Program.
Scott said the company is in conversations with several large U.S. fertilizer producers about their product and hopes to announce a partnership soon.
"Despite the challenges we have faced, there have been some real bright spots: we are very optimistic about the future," Scott said. "Our technology doesn't just work; it works better than we'd hoped."
Tech Ready to Upsize, Co. Says
Bion said its approach will reduce the carbon footprint associated with organic systems and "significantly reduce nitrogen runoff and off-gassing to protect surface waters, aquifers, and the atmosphere. It can quickly bring soil microbes in organic systems back to a healthy and productive balance and reduce the yield gap of organic crops as compared to conventional."
"The long-term 20-year chart shows that this is a good point for Bion to start higher again, as the recent downtrend has brought it down to what is believed to be a cyclical low in a zone of strong support in the vicinity of past lows going back many years," Maund continued, saying it was an "excellent point to buy Bion Environmental or add to positions."
An organic fertilizer, manure is traditionally applied to cropland before planting takes place. The volatile ammonia-nitrogen it contains — about 75% of the fertilizer's nitrogen/nutrient value — is usually lost to the environment. But Bion said its patented ARS technology targets this volatile and highly mobile ammonia nitrogen, stabilizes it with carbon dioxide also in the waste stream, and converts it into ammonium bicarbonate, a 100% soluble nitrogen fertilizer that can be readily absorbed by plants and applied to organic crops.
"It is pathogen-free," the company said. "So, unlike manure, it can be applied at any time in the plant growth cycle."
Bion said it expected improvement as ARS is upsized to commercial scale. "While engineering challenges are expected, Bion believes those risks are substantially mitigated because the ARS platform and the processes it uses perform better at larger scale," it said. "Over the next several months we intend to evaluate additional modifications we believe could dramatically reduce system capital costs and operating expenses."
Bion said the independent engineering report and the OMRI listing will allow it to move forward with strategic relationships in the fertilizer industry.
Future 'Bright Indeed'
According to Technical Analyst Clive Maund, Bion's future "looks very bright indeed."
"The company's technology has been proven up, works, and works well, and with the fast-growing worldwide concern about the effective treatment of farm wastes associated with the climate crisis, the market for this technology borders on in infinite," Maund wrote on November 25. "Add to that: the company learned last January that it was granted another patent, extending its IP to industrial and municipal waste streams, in addition to animal waste."
On the stock's six-month chart, Maund wrote that a "pattern that has been forming since early August has taken the form of a bullish Cup & Handle base that promises a probable entry into a new bull market. A breakout from this pattern will be signaled by a clear break above the line of resistance at about US$0.30, marking its upper boundary."
"The long-term 20-year chart shows that this is a good point for Bion to start higher again, as the recent downtrend has brought it down to what is believed to be a cyclical low in a zone of strong support in the vicinity of past lows going back many years," Maund continued, saying it was an "excellent point to buy Bion Environmental or add to positions."
The Catalyst: Organic Fertilizer Market Set to Expand
According to a report from Markets and Markets, the market size for organic fertilizers is valued at US$7.9 billion in 2024 and is estimated to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.5% through 2029 to reach US$13.6 billion.
"The rising preference for environmentally conscious food fuels the growth of the organic fertilizers industry," the report said. "This transition underscores a wider dedication to sustainable farming methods and reducing ecological damage."
Governments around the world are responding to this shift by enacting regulations and incentives to encourage organic farming, boosting the demand for organic fertilizers, Markets and Markets said.
Streetwise Ownership Overview*
Bion Environmental Technologies Inc. (BNET:OTCQB)
The global market for biogas is estimated to grow by US$19.51 billion from 2024-2028 at a CAGR of 6.01%, according to a report by Technavio.
Europe is way ahead of America when it comes to using the technology to process organic wastes. According to a 2022 report by Waste 360, there were about 17,500 such plants in the European Union in 2016 and less than 350 in the U.S.
Scott noted that it's a resource that's being wasted here. "This is stuff that's already here, and you've got one of two choices: it either goes to atmosphere and becomes pretty nasty air and water pollution, or you capture it and harness it," he said.
Ownership and Share Structure
According to Reuters, about 20% of Bion Environmental is owned by management and insiders.
About 1.25% is with Centerpoint Corp. with 0.70 million shares. Less than 1% is held by institutions.
The rest is with retail.
Bion has a market cap of US$11.31 million. Trading over the past 52 weeks ranged from US$0.15 per share to US$1.30.
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- Bion Environmental Technologies Inc. has a consulting relationship with Street Smart an affiliate of Streetwise Reports. Street Smart Clients pay a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
- As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Bion Environmental Technologies Inc.
- Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
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