SBIR-STTR Award

Nitricity is developing a system to produce nitrogen fertilizer with only air water andrenewable electricity. The current proposal focuses directly on the development of an essentialcomponent of this technology a low-cost reactor that can couple directly to a solar module andfixes nitrogen in the form of nitric acid a key precursor to other forms of nitrogen fertilizer. Tofurther this goal this project proposes to address three remaining research and developmentchallenges namely: (1) to understand the mechanisms that promote energy efficiency (2) tooptimize a reactor architecture based on the mechanisms learned vetting its performance andstability.Today the global supply of fertilizer is fueled by coal and natural gas and travels througha complex supply chain to farms around the world.Fertilizer distribution is a hazardous andexpensive process involving substantial storage and transportation infrastructure that stretchesover thousands of miles.As a result fertilizer costs are inflated and farmers are often forced tomake decisions based on prices rather than plants. Furthermore entrenched supply chains oftenmiss developing economies so nitrogen is not available where it is often needed most. We seekto produce nitrogen directly at the point of use. Removing the long supply chain allows farmersto apply fertilizers when their fields are ready reducing wasteful runoff and maximizing nitrogendelivery anywhere in the world.Our Project Director holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and has specific experience innovatingseveral nitrogen fixation technologies as a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. Theproposed research of this project follows initial successes in building a low-cost plasmaprototype for nitrogen fixation and will leverage literature advancements with rapid testingcapabilities to better understand the process and improve efficiency. Nitricity has developedpartnerships with leading research institutions farming and irrigation organizations andknowledgeable core advisors providing resources to increase the success of this proposal.The success of this project could have considerable commercial application andenvironmental impact. The successful development of this carbon-free system for nitrogenfertilizer can save farmers dollars per acre allow farms to effectively fertilize themselves withpH control and mitigate up to 80% of GHG emissions vs the incumbent production distributionand application of nitrogen fertilizer. We thank the reviewers for considering this proposal.

Nitricity has developed a technology that produces fertilizer using air water and electricity. Thistechnology replaces an expensive hazardous and inefficient supply chain and enables fertilizer tobe produced closer to the communities that need it.By avoiding the need to ship we focus onfertilizers that are best for fields and farmers rather than fertilizers best for factories and freight.This approach is designed to increase resiliency in American and global food systems - systemsfacing greater-than-ever market volatility. Ultimately this breakthrough technology has thepotential to decarbonize 1 Gt CO2eq per year (from CO2 and N2O) and save farmers money oneven the cheapest fertilizer in the world.In the Phase I of this USDA proposal we developed an efficient plasma reactor to producefertilizer. In effect this process captured 'lightning in a bottle' with a state-of-the-art plasmareactor. In the current USDA Phase II we will scale up our plasma reactors and integrate advancedheat recovery. Should we succeed this Phase II research will enable more fertilizer production anda higher system-level energy efficiency. Nitricity looks forward to the important work andopportunity that the USDA NIFA SBIR Phase II grant provides and believes it will propel thiscompany to commercial success.