A project to bring green ammonia to a Manitoba farm is slated for $300,000 in government funds. Ontario-based FuelPositive Corporation announced approval for the funding Dec. 14.
Why it matters: The project has been delayed several times due to supply chain issues but has garnered interest from the regenerative movement and from farmers worried about input costs.
Money through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership will be used to pilot the company’s on-farm green ammonia plant now planned at R&L Acres near Sperling.
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“The on-site, containerized green ammonia production systems will not only eliminate carbon emissions from the production of ammonia, but the on-site model also provides farmers with control over supply and timing and stabilizes the price of nitrogen fertilizer in their operations,” the company said.
Sperling-area producers Tracy and Curtis Hiebert have agreed to provide the litmus test for the technology. The demonstration system, slated to start ammonia production in early 2023, will be FuelPositive’s first at-scale test under real farm conditions.
All three versions of the company’s demonstration systems will be put to work on the farm, a Dec. 14 release read.
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The company cites Manitoba’s readily available hydroelectric power as important to the project’s environmental emphasis. Its technology removes hydrogen from water and also gathers it from the air using a patent-pending ammonia synthesis converter.
“We chose to start off in Manitoba because of its clean electrical grid, the large crop farms there and the need for an affordable and stable carbon-free fertilizer supply for its farmers and for food security. It’s the ideal environment for us,” said FuelPositive CEO Ian Clifford.
In an interview with the Co-operator, Curtis Hiebert said the system’s potential to supply ammonia at a stable price is the major attraction.
“It seems like the price of anhydrous goes up whenever natural gas goes up and it doesn’t come down when natural gas comes down,” he said, noting the system promises to dodge issues with transportation and supply.
FuelPositive has said the pilot will provide real-world validation for the technology in the next year and demonstrate the system to Hiebert’s peers.
The farmer also expects the next year to provide more data on operating costs, which the company estimates at $560 per tonne. That actual per-tonne cost will determine its future on the farm, said Hiebert. He expects 15 to 20 per cent of the farm’s ammonia will be green ammonia next year.
While the pilot has yet to start, FuelPositive has opened pre-sales on the systems with a base price of $950,000. Clifford said deposits for pre-sales are “less than $10,000.” The company expects the plants to last for several decades.
FuelPositive also envisions that the technology will move past ammonia-based fertilizer. Fuel for grain drying, farm machinery and heating are other future uses, the Dec. 14 release said.
Manitoba Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson cited the technology’s potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and said the province was “pleased to invest in the testing of this technology in Manitoba’s winter conditions.
“Our government strives to provide greater cost certainty and to reduce risk for agricultural producers and, if proven effective, FuelPositive’s technology for generating anhydrous ammonia at farms would assist in meeting these objectives,” he said.
The statement echoes similar support from federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.
“Investments in clean technology are helping producers stay competitive and become more resilient to environmental stressors and climate change. This investment in FuelPositive builds on innovations already being adopted by Manitoba’s producers to reduce their carbon footprint while sustainably feeding the world,” she said.
