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Reimagining Waste.
Azolla Loop is at the idea-stage of developing a closed-loop, self-contained system that grows azolla—a water fern that doubles its biomass in two days, absorbs excess nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater, fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere, and contains more protein than soy.
Designed to work alongside anaerobic digesters, Azolla Loop treats the remaining liquid effluent, closing the nutrient loop. This system transforms waste into sustainable feed and fertilizer, reducing reliance on resource-intensive inputs.
While current wastewater treatment systems cost over $600,000 for a 700-cow farm, Azolla Loop’s solution targets under $500,000 while cutting feed costs. Azolla Loop offers farmers a cost-effective, circular solution that turns a major liability—manure wastewater—into an opportunity for environmental and economic resilience.
Timeline
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Samantha Liu
Founder
Samantha Liu is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley studying Environmental Science and Economics. She founded One Green Step, a youth environmental nonprofit that raised over $30,000 and expanded to four school districts — giving her firsthand experience turning an idea into an operational, growing organization. She's currently working directly with Straus Family Creamery to validate Azolla Loop's approach on working dairy farms.
Our
Story
An idea born out of late-night reading and a wandering mind.
Azolla Loop started with a book. Reading Paul Hawken's Regeneration, Samantha came across azolla — a water fern largely overlooked by modern agriculture. The more she read, the more she saw a single organism that could simultaneously clean wastewater, replace synthetic fertilizer, and produce high-protein livestock feed. One plant. Three major agricultural problems.
That insight led to a deeper question: why hadn't anyone built a farm-ready system around it? That question became Azolla Loop.