Algaesys: Turning wastewater into a climate solution
Algaesys is inviting engineering firms, regional councils, and agribusinesses to partner in validating its carbon-negative, algae-based wastewater treatment system – a scalable, off-grid solution that transforms waste into clean water and reduces emissions.
After selling his successful fintech consultancy in 2020, Soner Bekir could have retired comfortably. Instead, he poured his IT expertise and more than AUD 3 million of his own capital into a bold new venture tackling one of agriculture’s toughest challenges, wastewater.
Through Algaesys, Soner is bringing to Australia a breakthrough algae-based, carbon-negative wastewater treatment system that cleans water in hours, not weeks, while capturing carbon and generating reusable resources.
“I believed in the technology and the people behind it,” Soner says. “And I didn’t want to see a technology with this kind of potential die on the shelf.”
Rethinking wastewater
Across agriculture and regional communities, wastewater management remains energy-intensive and costly. Conventional systems depend on expertise, chemicals, pumping, and aeration, often contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient runoff.
Algaesys flips that model. Its biological treatment system uses algae, bacteria, and phototrophic organisms to process nitrates, phosphates, heavy metals, and complex organics in just four to eight hours, compared with 3 to 28 days for traditional biological solutions.
The result is reusable water suitable for irrigation, livestock, and industrial applications, plus valuable algal biomass that can be used as fertiliser, stock-feed or renewable-energy feedstock. Each cubic metre of treated water absorbs around 80 grams of CO2, making the process not just sustainable, but restorative.
Learn more about Algaesys’ growAG. partnership opportunity here.
Algaesys: Why it works anywhere
A key advantage of the Algaesys system lies in its use of endemic species. During commissioning, local wastewater and soil are sampled to cultivate the naturally occurring algae and microorganisms that thrive in that environment. The system is first tested and biologically commissioned in a controlled environment, allowing these endemic species to propagate before being used to seed the plant.
“We use what nature has already pre-selected in that wastewater stream, because they’re the species surviving and happy consuming what’s there.”
These organisms are already adapted to local water chemistry, he explains, that helps the system stabilise quickly. Once operational, it continually re-seeds itself, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem tailored to local conditions.
This adaptability means Algaesys plants can operate in almost any climate, from humid dairying regions to arid mining towns, offering a low-maintenance, off-grid option for remote or resource-limited communities.
From concept to proof
Soner’s shift into environmental technology began after discovering Algaesys through the World Economic Forum’s Uplink Circular Cities Challenge. When COVID-era funding cutbacks derailed a European expansion, Soner launched Algaesys Australia to commercialise the system locally.
With more than 14 years of proven performance across municipal, industrial, and agricultural applications, Algaesys has commissioned six full-scale plants worldwide, including long-running installations in the US and Europe, and is now launching its first Australian facility in Western Australia.
The company’s first Southern Hemisphere plant, in Gingin, WA, services an eco-retirement village of six homes that will expand to 11 by the end of 2025, and 110 homes upon completion. Once certified by the Department of Health, it will become one of Australia’s first small-scale municipal wastewater systems to run entirely off grid treating black water to reuse levels.
Meanwhile, in the UK, Algaesys has partnered with Anglian Water to replace outdated infrastructure and meet new phosphorus-reduction regulations, with the potential to replicate the model across a significant number of regional sites in the next five years.
Its longest-running plant, built in 2014 in Indiana, USA, treats waste from up to 450 recreational vehicles each weekend and vacation period. Each plant can be largely built from off-the-shelf components, and commissioned in just three months, compared with six months to five years for traditional systems. Algaesys plants consume 0.2 kilowatt-hours per cubic metre of water processed, making it significantly less power-hungry than any comparable technology.
“Our systems are simple to build and run. They don’t need specialised engineers – any trained farmhand or park ranger can maintain them,” Soner says.
Partners wanted to solve wastewater management
Through its growAG. opportunity, Algaesys is seeking engineering firms, regional land councils, and agribusinesses to license and deploy its technology across Australia.
The company is inviting:
- Engineering firms and consulting engineers for licensing and to support trial deployments
- Regional land councils and government agencies to identify and validate applications in agricultural and municipal wastewater treatment
- Agricultural and industrial partners to explore trials for on-site validation and integration into existing water management systems.
“The technology is ready, it works and will be fully validated in the next quarter. We just need partners with a water problem, and the desire to actually fix it sustainably.”
Ideal pilots include dairy operations and livestock processing facilities, both facing increasing regulatory and sustainability pressures around wastewater management.
Beyond wastewater, Algaesys’ algal biomass is being explored for soil rehabilitation, salinity reduction, and as feedstock for anaerobic digestion, producing biomethane and carbon credits.
Ecosystem connections
Soner credits evokeAG. and growAG. for accelerating Algaesys’ entry into Australia’s agrifood innovation ecosystem. “Both have been critical in my journey into the ag space. Until evokeAG. 2024, I had no involvement in the ag sector,” he explains.
The experience, including participating in evokeAG. 2025 Startup Alley and pitching at Culinary Capital has helped Algaesys gain the visibility and connections needed to pivot from utilities into agriculture.
Following evokeAG. 2025, Algaesys has gone on to join the Beanstalk Propagate program, win the People’s Choice Award in the Brewery Challenge, and participate in the Drought Resilience Lab Cohort 4, engaging with producers, researchers, and corporates nationwide.
He has also participated in the recent Austrade Southeast Asia Business Exchange program to Indonesia and Brunei, promoting Australian agritech in the region.
Looking ahead to 2026, Algaesys is focused on scaling through collaboration. Soner believes agriculture offers the greatest opportunity for impact, accounting for most of Australia’s water use. The goal: to transform wastewater from a cost and compliance challenge into a regenerative resource – producing clean water, restoring soil health, and unlocking new energy potential.
Learn more about Algaesys’ growAG. partnership opportunity here.