Using electricity to extract nitrogen directly from the air

Funding from Cultivate Next – managed by Chipotle Mexican Grill – will be used to scale up Nitricity’s production of nitrogen, build out the company’s infrastructure, and support the launch of its first commercial product. Nitricity previously conducted field trials in oats, corn and tomatoes.

The company’s process mitigates greenhouse gas emissions and brings fertilizer production closer to fields. Nitricity’s liquid fertilizer blends are sustainably produced via a complicated process that the company likens to ‘catching lighting in a bottle’. Nitricity is using electricity to extract nitrogen directly from the air.

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Plasma-based process

The startup uses a plasma-based process that splits nitrogen molecules from air, reacts the nitrogen with oxygen, and forms nitrate fertilizers in water. It captures that fixed nitrogen, to make nitrate-based fertilizers.

The startup aims to set up regional facilities for large-scale production. It will focus on low-cost production so its blends can level up and be cost-competitive with conventional fertilizer. Farmers in the American Southwest and West who use nitrate-based fertilizers for specialty crops are the initial product-market focus. Later, Nitricity wants to provide its product to Midwest row crop growers that mainly use ammonia, urea or urea ammonium nitrate.

A cost-effective solution for growers

Nico Pinkowski, co-founder and CEO of Nitricity, emphasises that the company is committed to producing fertilizer that is optimised for farmers, not factory production or freight distribution. “Partnering with Chipotle will unquestionably accelerate our path toward disrupting the industry with climate-smart technology”, he says.

Chipotle recently announced its investment into Nitricity. According to Jack Hartung, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at Chipotle, Nitricity’s product innovation offers environmental benefits. “Those benefits are complementary to Chipotle’s approach to Food With Integrity”, he says.

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Cost-effective solution

“Fertilizers have experienced steep price increases in recent years due to supply chain issues, fossil fuel price volatility, and rising distribution costs. Nitricity’s fertilizer offering not only has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the fertilizer industry, but it can be a cost-effective solution for growers in our supply chain.”

This US spring Nitricity will also conduct trials with ag food company Olam (OFI). Recently, Nitricity launched a new pilot system that is capable of production rates 5 times greater than previous prototypes. This represents a significant advancement in Nitricity’s technology development, according to the company. The technology will undergo rigorous performance testing, producing calcium nitrate to be applied on Olam’s test plot of young almond trees.

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Stability of prices and reducing emissions

Founder & CEO Dawn Lippert of Elemental Excelerator – partner in this project – says he is excited about the potential community impact of enabling local food security and stability of fertilizer prices for farmers. “Nitricity’s pilot system in Fremont, California, represents a meaningful milestone in our mission to accelerate climate technologies with deep community impact – through local food security and better, cleaner fertilizer for farmers”

​Nitricity points out that the production and application of N fertilizers is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. “Nitricity’s electrified method to produce nitric acid and nitrate-based fertilizers can substantially reduce emissions. Ultimately, electrifying production and focusing on nitrate-based fertilizers with lower associated field emissions is key to help decarbonize the future”, the company says.

Selecting the right N source

The startup says that farmers need to be aware that selecting the right N source also has potentially a big impact on field N₂O emissions. “Nitrate-based fertilizers tend to be more efficient than ammonium based fertilizers, resulting in higher agronomic efficiency and lower field N2O emissions.”

Nitricity was founded by a team of graduate students from Stanford University in 2018. Nicolas Pinkowski is serving as CEO, Joshua McEnaney is president and CTO and Jay Schwalbe is serving as CSO. The company says it is currently scaling its technology.