2025
January 24, 2025
Corn Edition IS THIS THE NEXT
GREEN REVOLUTION? Companies partner to make sustainable ammonia fertilizer in Iowa By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer
B
OONE — Access to more reliable, sustainable, affordable nitrogen fertilizer is starting to become a reality in Iowa, thanks to innovative, new technology that makes ammonia from water, sunlight and energy. Talus Renewables, an energy technology company, has teamed up with Landus to produce eco-friendly “green” ammonia by the Landus facility near Boone, northeast of the Farm Progress Show site. “Talus’ containerized, green ammonia solutions decrease the cost and increase the sustainability and reliability of ammonia,” said Hiro Iwanaga, co-founder and CEO of Talus, who was on-site during the 2024 Farm Progress Show. This modern technology is changing the economics and environmental impact of anhydrous ammonia. Demand remains strong for ammonia, which is composed of nitrogen and hydrogen (NH3). Ammonia is the secondmost produced chemical in the world by mass, according to a 2022 publication from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Most ammonia is used to produce fertilizer. Today, a significant source of the global nitrogen supply is produced offshore in places such as China, Russia and the Middle East. Ammonia that’s shipped to the Midwest results in high carbon-intensity (CI) scores that can impact American farms that use this fertilizer. That is especially problematic for farmers trying to lower their CI metrics to become eligible for carbon credits and other incentive programs. Through Talus’ innovative technology, ammonia can be produced locally, near the point of use, at a lower cost. This technology eliminates the traditional process of ammonia production that relies on extracting hydrogen from natural gas, an energyintensive process laden with carbon emissions. The Talus system essentially uses the Haber-Bosch process,
which was developed at the turn of the 20th century to produce ammonia. (In 1908, chemist Fritz Haber combined nitrogen from the air with hydrogen from natural gas, over a metal catalyst at high pressure and temperature, to produce ammonia.) The Talus process incorporates a key difference. It uses water instead of natural gas to make green ammonia, which is chemically equivalent to traditional anhydrous ammonia. “We run electricity through water to split the molecule,” said Tristan Peitz, head of business development with Talus, who noted that oxygen is released during this process. “Oxygen is the only emission.” The Talus facility’s Boone location has a capacity of 300 to 500 tons of ammonia a year. Bringing fertilizer production closer to home will help eliminate costly links from the supply chain, said Matt Carstens, Landus president and CEO. He spoke during a ribbon-cutting event in mid-June 2024 near Boone at the Landus site, which includes a new $15 million, 75,000-square-foot fertilizer manufacturing and repackaging facility. “We’re looking forward to bringing U.S.-made, sustainable and fully customizable fertilizers to our farmers across the Midwest,” Carstens said. Some farmers will have the opportunity to start utilizing green anhydrous ammonia as early as the spring of 2025, according to information from Landus. Making ammonia supplies cheaper, greener and more reliable Talus Renewables pioneered the first commercial, modular, zero-carbon green ammonia system and brings years of experience to its latest projects. The company began operating a prototype, smallscale green ammonia system in 2012. It all started with one key question: How do we produce See GREEN, Page 3C
-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
“Our roots are in philanthropy, and our ethos is to serve smaller farmers. Talus’ initial push was to improve food security in the developing world.” — Tristan Peitz Head of business development for Talus
HIRO IWANAGA (left), co-founder and CEO of Talus Renewables, was on-site near Boone during the 2024 Farm Progress Show, along with Tristan Peitz, head of business development for Talus, an energy technology company that has teamed up with Landus to produce eco-friendly “green” ammonia. TOP PHOTO: Through Talus’ innovative technology (which operates in this facility near Boone), ammonia can be produced locally, near the point of use, at a lower cost. This technology eliminates the traditional process of ammonia production that relies on extracting hydrogen from natural gas, an energy-intensive process laden with carbon emissions.