A Somerset cleantech business has raised \u00a3800,000 to commercialise technology that removes phosphate pollution from waterways and returns it to agricultural soils as fertiliser.<\/p>\n
Rookwood Operations secured \u00a3550,000 equity investment from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund through The FSE Group, with additional backing from Sustainable Ventures and private investors, alongside a \u00a3700,000 Innovate UK award.<\/p>\n
The Wells-based company, founded in 2022, has developed what it describes as a nature-based technology addressing two linked challenges: declining river health driven by excess phosphate and the UK’s reliance on imported fertiliser.<\/p>\n
Jane Pearce, chief executive of Rookwood Operations, said: “We remove it from places it’s causing damage and return it to places it’s genuinely useful. It’s not complicated – it’s just sensible. This investment lets us scale faster, bring more people into the team, and tackle two of the UK’s growing risks headon: nutrient scarcity and freshwater pollution, both of which threaten longterm food and economic stability.”<\/p>\n
No rivers in England currently meet good chemical status.<\/p>\n
Ofwat has approved \u00a34.9bn of phosphorus removal investment for 2025 to 2030, creating demand for scalable solutions.<\/p>\n
The funding will support Rookwood as it strengthens commercial capability, scales production and expands deployment across customer sites.<\/p>\n
The company has received multiple Innovate UK awards, been featured on BBC Countryfile and was nominated for the Earthshot Prize by its patent advisers.<\/p>\n
Laurie Felker Jones, investment manager at The FSE Group, added: “The Rookwood team has developed a compelling solution to a nationally significant environmental challenge, combining strong commercial potential with clear environmental impact. With growing regulatory drivers and increasing demand for phosphorus mitigation, the business is well positioned to scale its technology and create long-term value.”<\/p>\n
Rookwood is working with organisations including Bristol Water and Yorkshire Dales National Park.<\/p>\n
Lizzy Upton, associate director at the British Business Bank, said: “Rookwood is turning an environmental challenge into a commercial opportunity, with technology that improves water quality while recovering a valuable resource for agriculture. It is a strong example of how the South West Investment Fund is supporting the UK’s Industrial Strategy by backing innovative businesses with significant potential to scale.”<\/p>\n
The South West Investment Fund offers finance ranging from \u00a325,000 loans to \u00a35m equity investment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wells-based business tackles phosphate pollution with nature-based technology<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":48771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137119,50204],"coauthors":[160],"class_list":["post-48770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courts","category-technology","tag-featured-story","tag-somerset"],"yoast_head":"\n