Reliable and affordable fertiliser supply was high on the agenda at this week’s Renewables in Agriculture conference, as events in the Middle East provide another reminder of just how exposed Australian farmers are to global supply chains.
With disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz putting pressure on fertiliser supplies and prices, the prospect of farmers producing their own fertiliser using locally generated renewable energy is looking increasingly attractive.
One technology on display at the conference came from Australian company PlasmaLeap, which is developing modular systems that use electricity, air and water to produce nitrogen fertiliser on farms.
Nick Bishop, PlasmaLeap’s CFO, told the conference the technology could potentially give farmers greater control over both fertiliser costs and supply, while dramatically reducing the emissions associated with conventional production.
Bishop says the nitrogen problem has been brewing for decades, in part because conventional fertiliser production is concentrated in a relatively small number of enormous plants.
