Green ammonia could be a potential breakthrough for agriculture, says Manitoba farmer

A Manitoba farmer says he hopes new technology being tested on his land could change the face of farming not only in the province, but across Canada.

One of the main ingredients needed in farming is anhydrous ammonia, which is used as a nitrogen fertilizer, says Curtis Hiebert, operator of R & L Acres, who has been farming since he was 12.

“Nitrogen is everywhere in the air, and the anhydrous production process is taking it out of the air and converting it into a form that we can put into the ground,” he said.

About 80 percent of the world’s ammonia is used in agriculture as fertilizer.

But because the process of making traditional ammonia involves removing hydrogen from fossil fuels such as oil, methane and coal, it has a significant environmental impact. It is an energy-intensive process that produces about 1.8 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.

But a new ammonia process is set to change that. It involves producing ammonia in a unit called a containerized green ammonia system, with the end result being zero-emission ammonia produced without the use of fossil fuels.

The system operates on-site, on the farm, giving agricultural producers like Hiebert more control over their ammonia supply.

“When we get it on site, we know it’s here – it doesn’t have to be transported from Brandon or Saskatchewan where these anhydrous substances [ammonia] “The plants are the same,” Hiebert said.

“Let’s hope [this will] “Also remove some of the variability in product price.”

The container production system was created by the Canadian company FuelPositive.

Its chief executive, Ian Clifford, said what is called “green ammonia” is created by removing hydrogen from water using electricity. It is then combined with nitrogen from the air to make ammonia. The green ammonia is stored on-site in a container so that farmers can use it when needed.

“The most important ingredient for green ammonia is that you have to start with a carbon-free, sustainable form of electricity. One of the reasons we’re starting this in Manitoba is because it’s a green grid — it’s cheap electricity,” because the province relies so heavily on hydropower, Clifford said.

Ammonia and the fertilizer it produces are essential ingredients for feeding the planet, but the way it’s currently produced is a huge carbon burden on the environment. Decentralizing ammonia production by allowing it to be done on farms is a “paradigm shift,” he said.

“We can’t handle centralized production — we can’t handle that level of carbon intensity, and it doesn’t make sense to transport a molecule thousands and thousands of kilometers when in fact the end user can produce it and use it on the farm.”

The containerized green ammonia production system is controlled remotely, and FuelPositive will monitor the system so it doesn’t add to the workload of the agricultural producer, Clifford said. All producers need to do is deploy it.

Clifford plans to build ammonia production facilities in Manitoba and expects to fulfill orders in the coming weeks and months.

‘Very tempting’ for large food processors and retailers: Prof.

“Green ammonia is very exciting,” said Mario Tenuta, professor of soil ecology at the University of Manitoba.

He added that ammonia has been produced in the same way for a hundred years, but the new process paves the way for the use of renewable energy sources in agriculture.

“When you start thinking about technologies and approaches that are going to get us to a point where we’re not changing the atmosphere or our environment in a negative way, that’s a really good thing,” Tenuta said.

“We know we have to get there, we know the atmosphere can’t change forever. Things are going to start to get away from us in terms of the natural controls and balances of climate and temperature.”

Tenuta said green ammonia production would reduce emissions from food production, with a cascading effect that would appeal to large food processors and retailers.

“It’s about reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the products and things they buy from others,” Tenuta said.

“It’s very enticing for them, so this technology and this approach is being watched very closely by a lot of different groups in our food system.”

Hiebert said the environmental benefits, as well as the economic benefits and the ability to control his own ammonia resources, are benefits to him and his farm.

“We should know what the price is [of ammonia] “This is the next 15 to 20 years — the life of the plant, which I’m told is a long time,” Hiebert said.

“If we can be disconnected from the grid, I don’t have to worry about the price [fossil fuels]so it’s a huge benefit for us.”

Manitoba farmer says green ammonia could be a potential agricultural breakthrough

A Manitoba farmer says he hopes new technology being tested on his land could change the face of farming not only in the province, but across Canada.