The following article originally appeared on Quantum Community Intelligence.
TalusAg’s CEO Hiro Iwanaga shared his views on the affordability of green ammonia, the rapid deployment of the company’s modular systems, and current operational endeavors, in an exclusive interview with Quantum last week.
Iwanga explained how TalusAg plans to scale up its production systems swiftly and inexpensively, to give greater access to cost-competitive green ammonia in the US.
The company is able to offer relatively low-cost green ammonia to farmers by connecting its modular systems to the grid, and locating the systems close to consumption points.
Grid connections
All of TalusAg’s US facilities will be connected to the grid, and clean energy use will be evidenced through renewable energy certificates (RECs) purchased by the company. This enables the company to comply with the 45V hydrogen credit requirements without having to build solar or wind.
“Our systems are designed to run intermittently, which enables us to operate on both on-grid and off-grid. We focus development where our feedstock costs allow us to be competitive with delivered grey ammonia, which is primarily driven by the cost of power – regardless of whether it’s on or off grid,” said Iwanaga.
“Across the Corn Belt, we are cheaper than the long-term average of grey ammonia delivered into the region,” said the CEO.
Low transport costs
The TalusAg production systems are set up close to ammonia consumption sites, which removes the need for expensive transportation, offering ammonia at competitive prices for farmers.
A 20-year average of US grey ammonia prices is around $500/st, and Talus’ green ammonia product is at a lower cost, according to Iwanaga.
Offtakes
“We only deploy where there is a 10-year offtake agreement, along with strong support from the power provider and community members,” stated Iwanaga.
The company plans to scale quickly with this format within the Corn Belt for direct green ammonia application. Talus has over 70 different locations in the US that are interested in a containerized system from Talus and can be connected to the grid system.
Spurred by 45V credits
The company aims to scale quickly to remain within the 45V credit timeline, under which facilities must begin construction by the end of 2027.
This has spurred the company to focus on improving the reliability of its systems. Right now, TalusAg systems run close to a 70% reliability rate, with a goal of 95% reliability.
With better system reliability and a shorter commissioning process, Talus aims to accelerate deployment of as many of its larger TalusTen production facilities as possible.
“Learning from our TalusOne demonstration systems is critical to accelerating deployments of our larger TalusTen systems that will further lower cost and improve access to fertilizers for growers in the Corn Belt,” said Iwanaga.
The commissioning process is becoming quicker, with the most recent taking 2-3 months. The company wants to shorten it to one month, eyeing the deployment of a TalusTen system each month of 2027.
Large-scale comparison
When asked about competition with large-scale low-carbon ammonia plants, Iwanaga said they were not in the same league.
“We are not in competition with a $5 billion green ammonia plant… and they are not competitive with us as those plants are focused on export markets willing to pay a premium for low carbon,” said Iwanaga.
TalusAg can produce green ammonia within months, whereas “the large-scale low-carbon ammonia plants take years,” noted Iwanaga.
Even in comparison to mid-size plants, which produce around 100,000-300,000mt of ammonia, distribution costs are still a limiting factor. TalusAg can cut distribution costs entirely, making a green product more affordable overall.
Affordability
Iwanaga said that TalusAg is able to be more focused on the customer, instead of solely on production numbers.
“In the U.S., our sole focus is locally producing a critical input to agriculture affordably and reliably for the farming communities we serve,” said Iwanaga.
The company also has plans to produce nearly 100,000mt of green ammonia in Angola by stacking multiple containerized systems.