ABOUT
CASFER
VISION &
MISSION
Our Vision
CASFER's vision is to enable resilient and sustainable food production by developing next-generation, modular, distributed, and efficient technologies for capturing, recycling, and producing electrified nitrogen-based fertilizers (NBFs) and other plant macronutrients.
CASFER will also leverage its platform technologies to optimize the recovery of phosphorous (phosphorous-based fertilizers, PBF), nutrients and other resources from waste streams while maximizing N circularity.
CASFER brings together a expert leadership and the convergence of a multidisciplinary team drawn from Texas Tech University, Florida A&M University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mission
Feeding the World for Generations to Come
Our mission is to transform the U.S. to a Nitrogen Circular Economy by optimizing waste stream recycling and reimagining value creation through secure, efficient infrastructure networks that drive market advantage and establish new revenue streams in the domestic nitrogen market.
CASFER aims to capture and recycle nitrogen from waste streams to reach more than 50% of the US NBF consumption. Instead of expending resources, energy, and money to deactivate diluted reactive nitrogen from waste streams, nitrogen from waste will be captured and recycled for crop production.
We bridge fundamental academic research and commercial innovation in the U.S. fertilizer industry. By integrating advances in nanotechnology, electrochemistry, and data science, CASFER develops transformative technologies ready for market adoption. This mission is achieved through NCE, where engineers, scientists, systems integrators, economists, legislators, and policy makers collaborate to ensure research outcomes translate into practical, industry-ready solutions.
IMPACT
OVERVIEW
CASFER is pioneering a revolutionary system that transforms waste into valuable resources to feed future generations while protecting our planet.
Half of the world's food supply depends on human-made fertilizers, produced through an energy-hungry industrial process called Haber-Bosch (HB). These vital fertilizers face dramatic price swings that threaten both US farmers and global food security.
Every year, an astounding $200 billion worth of nitrogen fertilizer and $25 billion in phosphorous fertilizer go to waste. For every 5 pounds of fertilizer farmers apply, only 1 pound ends up in our food - the rest escapes into our environment.
CASFER's innovative technology captures nitrogen from livestock farms, wastewater plants, and farm runoff, transforming it into precision fertilizers delivered directly to farmers - creating a sustainable path from waste to food.
CASFER Pillars
CASFER encompasses the broad integration across academic disciplines (Convergence Research) and skills-trained workforce (Engineering Workforce Development). The center embraces multiple perspectives, resulting in full engagement, deep collaboration with transdisciplinary stakeholders, and an ecosystem that maximizes the impact of CASFER innovations.