In agriculture, producers have historically relied on fertilizers to drive growth, pesticides to ward off threats, and chemical washes to sanitize food before distribution. While effective in the short term, this conventional model leads to soil degradation, inefficient resource use, chemical residues, and ongoing vulnerability to pathogens. Due to these issues, today’s most promising farms recognize the need to combine productivity with protection to ensure food integrity, understanding that traditional tools treat symptoms rather than strengthen the system.
This leaves a crucial question. Could there be a technology that unites the trifecta of nutrition, protection, and sustainability for plants at each stage of their lifespan?
John Russo felt the weight of the challenge. Determined to find a better way forward, he set out to build a solution that could nourish crops, protect them naturally, and reduce the industry’s dependence on chemicals. That vision became Lightning Water™, a company with its breakthrough technology that uses plasma-treated water to power a cleaner, more resilient approach to agriculture.
“Better crops are just the beginning. Our mission is to ensure tomorrow’s generation inherits clean food, clean water, and sustainable ways of living,” says Russo, CEO and co-founder.
The Science of Lightning Water™
Lightning Water™ employs a proprietary system of high-voltage discharges to generate plasma, a state of matter where gas becomes energized and filled with reactive particles. This process ionizes ambient air and water, producing reactive nitrogen and oxygen species that are naturally present in healthy ecosystems. Infused into the water, they transform it into Plasma-Activated Water (PAW), a nutrient-rich feed and natural protective shield that enhances growth and resilience without chemical additives.
What this means for crops is continuous support across three critical dimensions. Within the plant, PAW stimulates germination, improves root uptake, and speeds nutrient absorption, shortening cycles and raising yields by 30 to 35 percent. On the plant’s surface, reactive oxygen species act as natural sanitizers, warding off mold, algae, bacteria, and fungi, while a fine mist over the leaves offers a protective shield that functions almost like sunscreen, without leaving any chemical residue. Even after harvest, PAW helps preserve integrity across the supply chain, from packaging to transport, ensuring food moves safely and cleanly from field to table.
While the first effects are visible inside and on the plant, the advantages ripple outward into the systems that sustain them. In hydroponics, this translates into extended water life and no algal outbreaks, since the water is continuously recycled and ‘recharged’ with reactive agents. In soil-based systems, crops face fewer vulnerability windows during early growth. Each water source’s natural mineral content interacts distinctly with the plasma, creating crop-specific nutrient profiles, a frontier Lightning Water™ is now exploring.
As the company advances, it prioritizes compliance with regulatory standards, aligning with GRAS guidelines to ensure safe and confident adoption across agriculture.
Building a Movement Instead of Transaction
What began as an innovation is quickly becoming a movement. Industry giants and leading research institutions are stepping forward to test, validate and expand the technology’s applications. In collaboration with PepsiCo, Lightning Water™ has been used in lab environments to sterilize packaging and reduce contamination. In academic circles, the company has partnered with Drexel University's Nyheim Plasma Institute and Penn State's micronutrient division to validate and explore new applications of the technology.
At the same time, the founders have stayed true to their belief that movements are built through participation, not transactions. Instead of rushing to commercialize, they have shared Lightning Water™ with researchers, universities, and growers to generate real-world results and become part of the story.
Over the next few months, the company is focused on optimization by tuning plasma treatments to specific trace minerals in local water supplies, it intends to offer crop-specific nutrient profiles. Six years since its foundation, and eight years into plasma experimentation, Lightning Water™ is the pulse of transformation defining modern agriculture—merging science, sustainability, and innovation to unlock healthier harvests for generations to come.
This leaves a crucial question. Could there be a technology that unites the trifecta of nutrition, protection, and sustainability for plants at each stage of their lifespan?
John Russo felt the weight of the challenge. Determined to find a better way forward, he set out to build a solution that could nourish crops, protect them naturally, and reduce the industry’s dependence on chemicals. That vision became Lightning Water™, a company with its breakthrough technology that uses plasma-treated water to power a cleaner, more resilient approach to agriculture.
“Better crops are just the beginning. Our mission is to ensure tomorrow’s generation inherits clean food, clean water, and sustainable ways of living,” says Russo, CEO and co-founder.
The Science of Lightning Water™
Lightning Water™ employs a proprietary system of high-voltage discharges to generate plasma, a state of matter where gas becomes energized and filled with reactive particles. This process ionizes ambient air and water, producing reactive nitrogen and oxygen species that are naturally present in healthy ecosystems. Infused into the water, they transform it into Plasma-Activated Water (PAW), a nutrient-rich feed and natural protective shield that enhances growth and resilience without chemical additives.
What this means for crops is continuous support across three critical dimensions. Within the plant, PAW stimulates germination, improves root uptake, and speeds nutrient absorption, shortening cycles and raising yields by 30 to 35 percent. On the plant’s surface, reactive oxygen species act as natural sanitizers, warding off mold, algae, bacteria, and fungi, while a fine mist over the leaves offers a protective shield that functions almost like sunscreen, without leaving any chemical residue. Even after harvest, PAW helps preserve integrity across the supply chain, from packaging to transport, ensuring food moves safely and cleanly from field to table.
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Better crops are just the beginning. Our mission is to ensure tomorrow’s generation inherits clean food, clean water, and sustainable ways of living
While the first effects are visible inside and on the plant, the advantages ripple outward into the systems that sustain them. In hydroponics, this translates into extended water life and no algal outbreaks, since the water is continuously recycled and ‘recharged’ with reactive agents. In soil-based systems, crops face fewer vulnerability windows during early growth. Each water source’s natural mineral content interacts distinctly with the plasma, creating crop-specific nutrient profiles, a frontier Lightning Water™ is now exploring.
As the company advances, it prioritizes compliance with regulatory standards, aligning with GRAS guidelines to ensure safe and confident adoption across agriculture.
Building a Movement Instead of Transaction
What began as an innovation is quickly becoming a movement. Industry giants and leading research institutions are stepping forward to test, validate and expand the technology’s applications. In collaboration with PepsiCo, Lightning Water™ has been used in lab environments to sterilize packaging and reduce contamination. In academic circles, the company has partnered with Drexel University's Nyheim Plasma Institute and Penn State's micronutrient division to validate and explore new applications of the technology.
At the same time, the founders have stayed true to their belief that movements are built through participation, not transactions. Instead of rushing to commercialize, they have shared Lightning Water™ with researchers, universities, and growers to generate real-world results and become part of the story.
Over the next few months, the company is focused on optimization by tuning plasma treatments to specific trace minerals in local water supplies, it intends to offer crop-specific nutrient profiles. Six years since its foundation, and eight years into plasma experimentation, Lightning Water™ is the pulse of transformation defining modern agriculture—merging science, sustainability, and innovation to unlock healthier harvests for generations to come.
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