Would you invest one million dollars into algae? Probably not, that sounds crazy. But that’s exactly what the state of Iowa just did and that one move may be key to cleaning our air, waterways, growing organic crops, and creating sustainable aviation fuel. Martin Gross, founder of Gross-Wen Technologies tells us how their process works.
Iowa-based Gross-Wen technologies grows algae. Gross explains why too little or too much algae can be a problem, how algae cleans water and eats carbon from the air, and how they’re creating fuel for crops and fuel for planes with systems that look like algae treadmills.
Cleaning Iowa’s waste water
Gross is leading a biological revolution by “industrializing the way that nature deals with nitrogen and phosphorus” to solve persistent water quality issues. His company’s core technology utilizes modular, vertical “treadmills” covered in algae to strip pollutants from wastewater before they enter the environment. By controlling this growth within specialized greenhouses, Gross prevents the toxic algae blooms that typically lead to fish kills and oxygen depletion in public waterways.
“The way that I usually explain it is the way that nature deals with nitrogen and phosphorus is it grows algae,” Gross explained, noting that his systems simply speed up and concentrate this natural process to allow for effective harvesting.
Beyond water treatment, the process creates a valuable byproduct: algae biomass. While traditional chemical or bacterial treatments produce “sludge” that requires costly disposal, Gross-Wen’s approach yields a high-value stream. The company is currently utilizing a $1 million grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority to refine an algae-based soil amendment. Field trials over the last two years have demonstrated a 10% yield increase in crops like corn and wheat, allowing farmers to reduce synthetic nitrogen inputs without sacrificing productivity.
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Scalable Carbon Capture and Biofuels
The environmental impact of Gross’s technology extends into the atmosphere. Because algae is a dominant oxygen creator that “eats CO2 for breakfast, lunch, and through the night,” Gross-Wen is now monetizing carbon offsets. Gross estimates that if his current pipeline of projects is fully realized, the carbon dioxide offset annually would be “equal to the entire state of Iowa covered in forest.”
“We use algae, algae’s a microscopic plant, and as algae grows, it’s consuming carbon dioxide out of the air producing oxygen,” Gross said.
While the company currently focuses on co-locating with municipal and industrial wastewater plants, Gross envisions a future where algae is grown in non-fertile areas, such as deserts, to produce sustainable jet fuel and fertilizers at a massive scale. To fund this expansion, the company is currently closing a $20 million Series B fundraising round. As Gross puts it, “The world can only produce so much of those products,” referring to traditional crops, but algae offers a scalable, diverse option for a resource-constrained planet.