FREMONT, Oct. 12, 2023 – Nitricity Inc., a start up electrifying the production of climate-smart nitrogen fertilizer, today announced the commissioning of their next generation pilot system. Nitricity held a ribbon cutting ceremony at their facility in Fremont, CA to commemorate the occasion. In partnership with Olam Food Ingredients, Elemental Excelerator, and the Madera/Chowchilla Resource Conservation District, this project will support Nitricity and Olam’s field trial on young almond trees, which is scheduled to begin next spring in Chowchilla, CA.
Nitricity’s new pilot system is capable of production rates 5x greater than previous prototypes, which represents a significant advancement in Nitricity’s technology development. Over the next few months, the technology will undergo rigorous performance testing, producing calcium nitrate to be applied on Olam’s test plot of young almond trees. Nitricity's climate-smart calcium nitrate tackles GHG emissions via two mechanisms: 1) electrified production of fertilizer and 2) reduced field emissions from fertilizer application.
“We are incredibly proud to announce the commissioning of our newest and largest pilot system, a significant achievement that would not have been possible without the excellent work of Nitricity’s dedicated, hardworking team of engineers. We are thrilled to partner with Olam to showcase the performance of our climate-smart nitrate fertilizer, emphasizing our shared commitment to a sustainable future,” said Nitricity CEO, Nicolas Pinkowski.
“We were drawn to Nitricity’s game-changing method of producing nitrogen fertilizer using air, water, and renewable energy as it represents a significant shift away from the current methods for producing fertilizer, the cause of more than 2% of greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s unveiling of Nitricity’s pilot system in Fremont, CA, represents a meaningful milestone in our mission to accelerate climate technologies with deep community impact – through local food security and better, cleaner fertilizer for farmers,” Elemental Excelerator Founder & CEO Dawn Lippert said. “We’re also excited about the potential community impact of enabling local food security and stability of fertilizer prices for farmers. This collaboration to center both climate and community aligns deeply with Elemental’s values, and we’re eager for the transformative impact it will bring.”
“As a company that cares about sustainability, looking at our life cycle assessment and understanding where we can really reduce our carbon footprint, a huge one is nitrogen usage. The beauty of this trial is [the nitrogen] is made better, and that’s the difference for us,” said Senior Director of Agronomy at Olam Farms, Zac Ellis.​
​About Nitricity
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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.