Nitricity launches field trial of climate-smart nitrogen fertilizer on almond trees with Olam Food Ingredients in California’s Central Valley

Nitricity Inc., a California-based company electrifying the production of climate-smart nitrogen fertilizer, celebrated the launch of its latest field test at an event on Friday in Madera County. In partnership with Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), Elemental Excelerator, and the Madera/Chowchilla Resource Conservation District, the announcement marked a significant increase in scale from small deliveries to the first tonnage delivered of Nitricity’s locally-produced liquid calcium nitrate product.

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From left to right: Mitch Rubin, Director of Innovation, Elemental Excelerator; Nicolas Pinkowski, CEO, Nitricity; Zac Ellis, Senior Director of Agronomy, ofi; Tiziano Celli, Agronomist, Nitricity. (Photo: Laura Morton)

Nitrogen fertilizer is a vital input in food production around the world, but its production and application is responsible for up to 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. A complex supply chain, coupled with heavy reliance on fossil fuels, means farmers are forced to make decisions based on price and availability rather than on crop needs or environmental impact.

“Nitrogen usage represents a significant portion of the overall climate footprint in the almond industry, so we are actively looking at ways to reduce emissions across our supply chain and product lifecycle,” said Senior Director of Agronomy at ofi, Zac Ellis. “Nitricity’s calcium nitrate product gives crops the fuel they need to grow without the environmental impact.”

Nitricity’s unique process uses air, water, and renewable electricity to produce climate-smart nitrogen fertilizer. Nitricity’s liquid calcium nitrate solution has the potential to release significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditionally-produced fertilizers, such as conventional calcium nitrate or anhydrous ammonia. As farmers and food producers seek Scope 3 emissions reduction, the impact of nitrogen fertilizer’s embedded carbon emissions from upstream manufacturing becomes even more critical.

“We are thrilled to build upon the success of our product on corn, tomatoes, and oats by showing through this field application that climate-smart nitrogen fertilizer can make a dent in the almond industry’s carbon emissions,” said Nitricity CEO, Nicolas Pinkowski. “Ofi is a key partner for Nitricity on our path to scaling our product for a more local, sustainable future for the Central Valley.”

The company received funding from Elemental Excelerator using its Square Partnership Model to further develop its product, scale it to the tonnage on display in Chowchilla, and collaborate with the Resource Conservation District on educational programming for local growers. Over the next few months, Nitricity’s climate-smart fertilizer will undergo rigorous performance testing through its application on ofi’s test plot of young almond trees.

“Not only is Nitricity making fertilizer in a sustainable way for healthier land and soils, it is doing so with a local, community-based approach,” Elemental Excelerator Vice President of Portfolio, Danya Hakeem said. “We are excited to see our investment doing exactly what it intended to do — scale manufacturing capacity, prove the product, and enter the next phase in market delivery.”

Nitricity is now planning a new commercial production facility to serve California’s Central Valley. The result will be a locally produced product with lower carbon emissions that directly supports nearby communities. For more information, visit www.nitricity.co.

About Nitricity

Nitricity produces nitrogen fertilizer with only air, water, and electricity. Founded by a team of graduate students from Stanford University in 2018 — Nicolas Pinkowski serving as CEO, Joshua McEnaney serving as president and CTO, and Jay Schwalbe serving as CSO — the company is scaling its technology to provide regionalized, climate-smart nitrate fertilizer production.

About ofi

Ofi (Olam Food Ingredients) offers naturally good food & beverage ingredients and solutions. Pioneers at heart, they operate at the forefront of consumer trends to provide food & beverage manufacturers with products and ingredients that will delight their consumers. With a deep-rooted presence in the countries where their ingredients are grown, they are closer to farmers, enabling better quality, and more reliable, traceable and transparent supply. Supplying products and ingredients at scale is just the start. They add value through their unique, complementary portfolio of natural, delicious and nutritious products. They help their customers unleash the sensory and functional attributes of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts and spices so they can create naturally good food and beverage products that meet consumer expectations. For more information, please visit www.ofi.com.

About Elemental Excelerator

Elemental is a nonprofit investor in climate technologies with deep community impact. We bring more than a decade of experience across the climate sector, with an active and maturing portfolio of 150+ companies. Elemental fills two gaps fundamental to addressing climate change: funding projects for climate technologies in communities, and embedding equity and access into climate solutions. We invest in transformative technologies to create a systems change for a more resilient, equitable future. For more information, visit elementalexcelerator.com.

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