Farmers making their own fertilizer: FuelPositive update
The Canadian technology of FuelPositive, that will enable farmers to produce their own ammonia fertilizer is on the cusp of commercialization.
The containerized, scalable system developed by Manitoba-based FuelPositive (FP) produces green anhydrous ammonia (NH3) fertilizer from only air and water, using electricity made on the farm or purchased from the local sustainable utility. The system is both self-monitoring and remote monitored.
The need for such a system stems from the high price of nitrogen fertilizer, the largest of all crop input costs. “With their own NH3 production, farmers also mitigate fertilizer availability risks,” says FP CEO and co-founder Ian Clifford. “The ammonia can also ultimately be used to power internal combustion engines on the farm or for grain drying systems instead of propane.”
Costs and more
The estimated base price for a 500-tonne-per-year system is approximately CAD $5 million (€3.39 million). ROI calculations must factor in the price of electricity (generated on or off the farm) and the commodity price of purchased ammonia that the FP ammonia displaces.Clifford notes another ROI factor is whether individual farmers or a group of farmers purchases a system. Either way, “there must be adequate access to water,” he explains, “as the system requires 2.400 liters/day.”
Tech updates
The system demonstration unit, located on a Manitoba farm owned by the Hieberts family, is being powered through electricity from Manitoba’s carbon-free grid, in combination with the family’s 200-kw solar array. To build it, the company used investor capital (from investors, including farmers) and also received CAD$1.9 million (€1.29 million) in federal and provincial funding.
Gas composition and purity (H, N and their combining into NH3) tests have been carried out on an ongoing basis. Clifford notes that the purity of the hydrogen (produced by the system from water) is critical, as this is the factor that most affects system performance and the rate of ammonia production.
Independent validation has been completed for FP’s patent-pending ammonia synthesis converters, the N production system and the entire system. FP is now entering the final phase of pressure vessel certification and third-party engineering certifications.
“We continue to raise capital as a public company on the Toronto Venture Exchange and are also actively applying for provincial funding to cover the remaining activation costs and help transition to commercialization,” says Clifford. “We are very excited about launching the system on the market, which we hope will be in early spring 2025.
