Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Plan2fix (Nitrogen-enriched plasma activated water, an unparalleled plant feeding system)
Période du rapport: 2020-09-01 au 2021-12-31
Nitrogen is the most important fertilizer for crops and plants to grow, without it about 40% of the world's population would have nothing to eat. Annually around 140 million tons of nitrogen fertilizers are produced by the fossil fuel based Haber-Bosch process. The fixation of such enormous amounts of nitrogen contributes for about 2% of the global energy use, 5% of natural gas resources and to climate change via its CO2 emission of around 200 million ton each year (3.2 % of global greenhouse gasses emissions). Furthermore, the artificial Nitrogen (NH3) can only be absorbed by plants once it is transformed by microorganisms into NO3-(nitrate). However, during this process, up to 70% of N is lost into the soil, resulting in soil and water pollution. Only in Europe the direct cost derived from this contamination due to leakage of synthetic N-fertilizers has been quantified at around € 14 billion/year.
With our plasma based nitrogen fixation system we only make use of air water and electricity, this provides a sustainable and non-pollutant alternative to synthetic N-fertilizers. We extract nitrogen directly out of the air and fixate it into water in the form of nitrate through our patented plasma technology. The fertilizer we provide is optimal for plant growth and its concentrations can be adjusted if needed. Our systems can run on renewables resulting in a zero CO2 footprint and the on-site production cuts down all logistic costs.
We will bring our plasma based nitrogen fixation technology to the market offering growers and horticulture companies means to produce their own sustainable natural nitrogen fertilizer starting with organic cultivation. Our equipment can be used in all situations where liquid fertilizer is applied to crops by feed water and fertigation systems.
With our plasma based nitrogen fixation system we only make use of air water and electricity, this provides a sustainable and non-pollutant alternative to synthetic N-fertilizers. We extract nitrogen directly out of the air and fixate it into water in the form of nitrate through our patented plasma technology. The fertilizer we provide is optimal for plant growth and its concentrations can be adjusted if needed. Our systems can run on renewables resulting in a zero CO2 footprint and the on-site production cuts down all logistic costs.
We will bring our plasma based nitrogen fixation technology to the market offering growers and horticulture companies means to produce their own sustainable natural nitrogen fertilizer starting with organic cultivation. Our equipment can be used in all situations where liquid fertilizer is applied to crops by feed water and fertigation systems.
We have been upscaling our technology to 15 kWh plasma modules that are capable of fixating natural nitrogen into valuable nitrate fertilizer that can be integrated in existing drip irrigation and fertigation systems in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). We have realized and build prototypes that comply to applicable standards and safety aspects. The fertilizer produced by the prototypes was used in large scale on-field demonstrations in organic tomato cultivation in hydroponics and in lettuce cultivation in vertical farming, that started in in May and continued until November 2021. In preparation of these demonstrations we have performed small scale experiments to pre-test and guarantee a good integration in the existing fertigation systems. In close cooperation with the testing facilities WUR and Botany we have tailored organic and synthetic fertilizer recipes that make it possible to integrate natural nitrogen directly into existing horticulture plant feeding systems as a sustainable source for nitrogen fertilizers. The results that have become available in December and were communicated and disseminated on our website and presented to horticulture service providers, potential clients and end-users . For the commercialisation we have mapped the landscape of our markets in Europe and the US and kept track of developments in policy making in Europe’s Farm to Fork Strategy which is at the heart of the European Green Deal, to make agriculture more sustainable. New developments in Green Haber Bosch ammonia production have got our attention, and our technology can have an added value for the sustainable production of nitrogen fertilizers..
The process of treating water with plasma is copied out of nature, it is a biomimicry of lightning in a thunderstorm which is one of nature’s way to naturally fixate nitrogen, 10 percent of all bonded nitrogen is fixated through lightning. With our natural and bio-based plasma equipment we have performed two demonstration and proofed that our solution performs as good as than traditional synthetic fertilizers. We are aiming to be accepted as organic fertilizer, bio-stimulant or plant aid based on the growing demand for organic fertilizers and the environmental benefits of our natural nitrogen solution that fits within the policy targets of the European Farm to Fork Strategy for 25% more organic farming and 50% reduction of nutrient losses by 2030. With our natural and bio-based plasma technology we contribute to the realization of these goals, we make agriculture more sustainable through the creation of circular food production with clean alternatives for fossil fuel-based synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.