Highly emitting fertiliser production underpins global population growth
Over half the world’s population consumes food grown using fertiliser derived from the Haber-Bosch (HB) process. The HB synthesis route for ammonia has been the backbone of global fertiliser production since its inception back in 1913. Alongside more efficient farming processes and machine automation, US farmers have been able to increase yields from 1,500 kg per hectare in 1930 to 10,000 kg per hectare in 2020 via the use of nitrogenous fertilisers.
But this ability to feed our world comes at a cost. HB is highly energy- and carbon-intensive, with production consuming 1-2% of the world’s energy supply and contributing to 2% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, excluding transport and application. If the ammonia industry were a country, it would be the 16th largest emitter in the world, between South Africa and Australia in 2019. On a mass basis, ammonia generation is twice as emission intensive as crude steel fabrication and four times that of cement production.
The stats are in; our population is growing, and we need emission-free fertilisers now more than ever.
Non-Thermal Plasma Breakthrough
Air, water, and electricity are all that is required for PlasmaLeap to produce cheap, high-quality, green fertilisers at scale. Driving decarbonisation is the system’s compatibility with variable and intermittent renewable energy sources. Their novel microreactor can lead to an 88% reduction* in carbon emissions relative to the HB process, providing a viable pathway to upend one of the notoriously hard-to-abate sectors.
PlasmaLeap’s game-changing approach lies in the highly efficient generation and use of plasma — the fourth state of matter after solids, liquids, and gases — creating an ideal environment for breaking chemical bonds. The full stack system is modular, deployable and ready for grid or renewable integration alike.
Our Investment Thesis
If you followed our last blog post, we stated that the key metric for customer adoption is $ per unit of kg of nitrogen delivered to the soil. This is where PlasmaLeap excels. With a clear line of sight to outperforming fossil-derived urea on a cost basis (not including green premiums or carbon incentives), this aligns perfectly with our core investment thesis in all sectors: there must be a pathway to cost reductions compared to the emissive, incumbent technology. As we have said before, you can’t be green if you’re in the red!
The Haber Bosch process relies on a heavily centralised, highly CAPEX-intensive model, leveraging economies of scale to produce cost-effective ammonia. PlasmaLeap flips that model on its head, developing an on-site solution that removes the burden of fluctuating fertiliser prices from farmers, providing a high-quality and reliable supply.
The green fertiliser market alone is compelling enough from both carbon mitigation and economic standpoints, but PlasmaLeap isn’t stopping there. Their pioneering bond-breaking approach has applications across sectors, with Synthetic Aviation Fuels (SAFs), E-Fuels, and green Methanol production in their sights.
The Team Driving Change
Built on research developed at the University of Sydney and led by Professor PJ Cullen — a leading expert in non-thermal plasma technology with over 150 published papers — their plasma approach quickly demonstrated impressive energy efficiency. This technical expertise is complemented by CEO Frere Byrne, who brings a highly relevant skill set in venture capital, and sales expert Samantha Cullen, rounding out an excellent founding team.
We’ve worked with PlasmaLeap for nearly 18 months, and in that time, their technical and commercial growth has been startling, consistently surpassing milestones well ahead of schedule.
Our Relationship with the Fertiliser Space
With agriculture embedded in our DNA, we have long been proponents of a solution with PlasmaLeap’s key traits, which have been developed with farmers at the core. That’s why we’re thrilled to support the team in their journey to disrupt an industry integral to Twynam’s and modern society’s existence!
*As per PlasmaLeap’s own claims