PlasmaLeap offers farmers a green and cost-effective alternative to traditional fertilizers
Sydney-based company PlasmaLeap has developed a new method for producing green ammonia using a technology that relies solely on electricity, air, and water. This innovative approach enables farmers to produce nitrogen fertilizer directly on their farms using green energy sources.
The Australian technology holds the potential to address the rapidly growing global demand for both fertilisers and clean energy. It is grounded in Australian research and enables inexpensive, on-demand, and decentralised production.
Designed to mimic natural process
PlasmaLeap designed its technology to mimic the natural process by which lightning fixes nitrogen in the air. However, it achieves this in a controlled environment. The company’s solution offers a commercially viable alternative to the conventional Haber-Bosch process. This has been the primary method of ammonia production for over a century.
To implement this technology, PlasmaLeap builds reactors that use lightning-like electrical discharges at ambient pressures and temperatures, powered entirely by renewable energy. Currently, the company deploys pilot units on farms or industrial sites, which also eliminates the risks associated with transportation. Farmers who want a unit, require a solar PV array or a 3-phase grid connection. They also need a water source suitable for application to crops.
PlasmaLeap delivers its products as a high-concentration aqueous solution that can be used in a wide range of cropping operations. These include broadacre crops via sprayers or knife/injection delivery, as well as fertigation systems in controlled environments like greenhouses and polytunnels.
Lower fertilizer costs
The technology also offers farmers an opportunity to achieve greater self-reliance and sustainability. Currently, Australia imports almost all of its nitrogen fertilizers, leaving the agricultural sector vulnerable to disruptions in global supply chains and fluctuations in fertilizer prices. PlasmaLeap’s model aims to eliminate this reliance by providing a steady, localised supply of green fertilizer.
The company provides an operational model in which farmers do not need to purchase the technology upfront. Instead, they can enter into a product off-take agreement with PlasmaLeap, ensuring a consistent on-site supply of fertilizer at prices up to 10% lower than traditional fertilizer costs.
Australia currently spends approximately AUS $4 billion (US $2.6 billion) annually on fertilizer, with the average farmer spending close to AUS $300,000 (US $195,000) each year. By adopting PlasmaLeap’s technology, farmers could save up to AUS $30,000 (US $19,500) annually, leading to potential national savings of up to AUS $400 million (US $260 million) per year across the country.
Green ammonia production
Frere Byrne, CEO and co-founder of PlasmaLeap, emphasizes the transformative nature of the company’s green ammonia production. “Ammonia synthesis has relied on fossil fuels for over a century. We are now offering a renewable electricity-driven solution that completely eliminates emissions and accelerates ammonia’s potential as a clean, sustainable fuel, energy carrier, and fertilizer. Without commercially viable green ammonia production, the world will never reach its net-zero goals”, Byrne says.
The company claims to have achieved production rates of 20 kWh per kg for green ammonia and less than 10 kWh per kg for nitrates. By comparison, the traditional Haber-Bosch process requires around 10 kWh per kg of ammonia, but PlasmaLeap’s technology eliminates transportation costs, making it economically viable even at a smaller scale.
Ammonia-based fertilizers currently account for roughly 70% of the global ammonia market, which is valued at approximately US $100 billion annually. This market is expected to grow substantially, reaching US $260 billion by 2050.
Price stability for farmers
PlasmaLeap has already completed several successful pilot projects, including one at the Mountford Berries farm in Tasmania. The company plans to expand its technology rollout across Australia and Ethiopia, aiming to demonstrate its impact in both developed and developing countries, including indigenous regions. PlasmaLeap believes that its technology will enhance food security, ensure price stability for farmers, and contribute to reducing one of the world’s largest CO2-emitting sectors.
The company is currently in the process of securing Series A funding to accelerate the commercialization of its technology. Several investors, including Australian investment firm Twynam, have already backed PlasmaLeap. Twynam highlights the environmental impact of the traditional Haber-Bosch process, which is highly energy- and carbon-intensive, consuming 1-2% of the world’s energy supply and contributing to 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, excluding transport and application.
“If the ammonia industry were a country, it would be the 16th largest emitter in the world”, Twynam points out. “PlasmaLeap’s novel microreactor technology could reduce carbon emissions by up to 88% compared to the Haber-Bosch process, providing a feasible pathway to overhaul one of the world’s most challenging and carbon-intensive sectors.”
