The following article originally appeared on Iowa Farm Bureau. 

Eagle Grove, Manning sites in development as TalusAg and Landus Cooperative bring modular systems to rural Iowa.

Iowa’s first modular green ammonia plant came online this month in Boone, providing farmers with an affordable, efficient fertilizer option produced directly in their backyard.

TalusAg has additional, larger operations in development planned for Eagle Grove and Manning, with nine other Iowa locations being considered and 78 in total across the Corn Belt.

The grand opening of the new 75,000-square-foot fertilizer production and distribution facility in Boone is heralded by state and federal lawmakers as a “game­ changer” for the fertilizer industry, providing additional fertilizer supplies locally while reducing reliance on off-shore product produced in China, Russia and the Middle East.

Energy technology company TalusAg partnered with Landus Cooperative for the domestic fertilizer production initiative. TalusAg developed the world’s first commercial-scale, modular, green ammonia production strategy and is rolling out its systems across the heartland. Landus and Wilbur Ellis are among the company’s launch partners.

“We’ve been dependent on this build big plants all over the world, ship ammonia all over the world (mentality). What we realized is that can be expensive, that can be unreliable and it’s obviously carbon intensive,” Talus CEO Hiro lwanaga said last September.

“So the idea of on-site or near-site local production that can be cheaper and more reliable … (and) more sustainable, is attractive. It can fundamentally alter how we deliver this critical raw material around the world.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided a $4.9 million grant in support of the Boone project.

“The first tons of ammonia delivered to Landus this month is a major milestone for the industry,” lwanaga said. “More importantly …, we are deploying another 12 sites in Iowa all to Landus.”

 

Roots in Africa

lwanaga says the modular green ammonia production concept was developed in Sub-Saharan Africa, where fertilizer was expensive and difficult to secure for small farms.

“The origin of Talus was really focused on deploying modular, rapidly deployable green ammonia systems into the developing world,” lwanaga said, which has been a successfuI venture.

Expansion to the United States was boosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit that provides a 10-year tax incentive for clean hydrogen production.

“Now we can lower the cost of fertilizer for Iowa farmers, just like we do for African farmers,” lwanaga said. “For an American farmer, local production of this critical raw material is incredibly valuable from a resiliency and reliability perspective.”

Price volatility also has been a challenge for the farming industry. “So with our systems that are locally produced on site …, we can offer a long-term, fixed price with guaranteed availability,” lwanaga said.

The partnership with Landus allows TalusAg to meet farmers in their element.

“Landus is a great partner for us because they have scale …, and their long-term focus on sustainability was why we originally reached out to them,” lwanaga explained.

Landus shared the enthusiasm, offering its support to provide fertilizer for Iowa’s farmers with guaranteed availability and lower prices with a long-term commitment, he added.

How it works

The $15 million Boone sustainable fertilizer facility has the capacity to produce 20 tons of 82-0-0 slow-release nitrogen per day, and the Eagle Grove and Manning projects will have larger capacities up to 7,000 tons per year per system with up to four systems in development at each site.

The green ammonia process differs from a conventional process that utilizes natural gas or coal to split hydrogen.

 

“What we do is a little different,” lwanaga said. “The process itself is very similar … We get nitrogen from air, and we get hydrogen from water.

 

“The only inputs we need are air, a little bit of water and an incredible amount of power. In our case, it generally needs to be green power or renewable power.”

 

Wind and solar generation are the preferred power methods, he said. “We can produce ammonia on site and that can guarantee both availability and pricing for farmers,” lwanaga said.

Farmers can take advantage of reduced carbon intensity scores by utilizing green ammonia. “There are any number of Cl score improvements that you can make

… –  no-till, cover crops,” lwanaga said. “Green ammonia, or using a carbon-free fertilizer …, will reduce the Cl score of corn, the average bushel of corn in Iowa by 25%, so it’s an immediate 25o/o reduction in your Cl score and the verification is really easy.

“It’s just a receipt … You either bought green ammonia or you didn’t, and we’re excited for that.”

 

lwagana said TalusAg is working with large renewable fuel and ethanol producers that are focused on lowering the carbon intensity of their renewable fuels and deploying green ammonia systems to serve Midwest farmers to lower farm Cl scores.

The long-term mission of TalusAg is to improve global food security and tackle climate change.

 

The company’s initial goal is 78 sites across the U.S. in the Corn Belt, Pacific Northwest and Southwest, particularly in Texas.

 

“The vast majority of those systems are serving American farmers to lower the cost of basic nitrogen fertilizers for them,” lwanaga said. “We also are working with mining companies and other industrial companies, also big users of ammonia …, and we will continue to deploy systems into the developing world, where we’re improving access to basic fertilizers.”

Iowa farmers soon will be able to take advantage of the multiple, regional sites for fertilizer access. By this time next year, Eagle Grove and Manning projects will be completed with additional projects in development, lwanaga said.

“The possibilities are endless, and we’re excited to see what the future will bring and the impact we can have,” he said.