Algae Forest™ Platform developed by the creators of the membrane bioreactor category offers smaller municipal & industrial wastewater treatment plants lowest-in-class treatment costs while maximizing nutrient recovery
VANCOUVER, B.C. — Sept 23, 2026 —AlgaFilm Technologies, developers of algae-based wastewater treatment solutions for the most economical nutrient removal and recovery technology, today announced the successful close of its seed financing. The round was led by Azolla Ventures and Burnt Island Ventures, with participation from E8 Angels.
The oversubscribed funding will support AlgaFilm in advancing commercial deployments of its Algae Forest™ platform building on its success in scaling from pilot to full scale at its Kingsville demonstration project.
Over 10,000 wastewater treatment plants across North America and Europe require upgrades to meet increasingly stringent nutrient discharge limits to protect water quality. The US EPA’s 2022 – 2026 Lagoon WW Treatment Action Plan aims to help small communities and industries modernize lagoon treatment, with the main challenges being cost and complexity. Nutrient pollution has become the leading cause of water quality degradation globally, for example:
- Nitrogen contamination in groundwater impairs those drinking water sources
- Total nitrogen and phosphorus in waterways lead to algae blooms, hypoxia, and habitat degradation; ammonia is acutely toxic to aquatic life
- Nitrogen and phosphorus resources are increasingly scarce and costly as agricultural inputs, driving a need for nutrient recovery and reuse
This is where Algae Forest comes in – a simple, elegant, patented algae-based nutrient removal and recovery technology that these target communities and industries can afford and implement. It is a next-generation biological treatment technology designed to deliver the low-cost, low-carbon secondary and tertiary treatment these smaller treatment facilities need, especially the thousands of facilities using lagoon-based treatment. The company has built a growing base of technical validation and regulatory intelligence supporting adoption across North American and European markets.
“The completion of our funding round gives us the fiscal foundation and industry network to support our evolution from technology development to commercial adoption, along with validating the economic and environmental benefits Algae Forest can generate for our clients. We deeply appreciate Burnt Island Ventures’ ongoing support and Azolla Ventures’ lead on closing out our seed round.” said Ahren Britton, Founder and CEO of AlgaFilm Technologies.
“Wastewater infrastructure is one of the most overlooked yet essential opportunities for climate-aligned innovation, and AlgaFilm stands out for pairing deep technical expertise with a clear path to meaningful reductions in climate impact from this sector. This financing positions the company to expand its municipal and industrial pipeline, and we’re glad to support the AlgaFilm team as they scale.” said Amy Duffuor, General Partner, Azolla Ventures.
“AlgaFilm provides a much-needed solution for municipal and industrial operators struggling to find an effective and affordable way to remove and recover nutrients. This team knows how to invent and commercialize wastewater technologies, and their progress since our first investment has been fantastic. We’re thrilled to support this next phase of the company alongside Azolla Ventures and E8 Angels.” said Steve Kloos, Partner, Burnt Island Ventures.
Algae Forest is currently available for pilot installations. For more information, visit www.algafilm.com.
