All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

Phospholutions Attracts Additional Investment

News, News Briefs, Northeast, Phosphate, Specialty

Phospholutions Inc., State College, Penn., a sustainable fertilizer technology developer, announced on July 6 additional investment from global agricultural companies to support commercialization of RhizoSorb® in the U.S. row crop market. The recent funding includes investment from Ospraie Ag Sciences (OAS), Bunge Ventures, the for-profit, global investment arm of Bunge Ltd. and UPL Ltd.

Phospholutions said that after extensive on-farm testing and almost 30 years of academic research, RhizoSorbis the first patented fertilizer additive proven to reduce phosphorus fertilizer applications by 50% without compromising yield.

It said the product increases the efficiency of applied and native soil phosphorus by releasing nutrients based on a chemical gradient in the soil, leading to better availability throughout the season. RhizoSorb has been tested on row crops including corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, sunflowers, chickpeas, rice, and turfgrass.

“RhizoSorb® is proven to deliver the same amount of phosphorus to the plant with half the amount of applied fertilizer,” said Founder and CEO Hunter Swisher. “Conventional fertilizers are inefficient, as less than 25% of phosphorus is taken up by the crop during the growing season.

“With recent increases in fertilizer prices and supply constraints in key global markets, farmers urgently need proven solutions to help maximize the return on input costs,” he added. “This investment helps accelerate our commercial launch by supporting this year’s commercial trial program, strategic development partnerships, and enables product to be delivered to the U.S. row crop market for the 2023 growing season.”

This new investment series follows the Series A totaling $10.3 million announced early last year (GM Jan. 22, 2021) which allowed Phospholutions to more than triple in size. At the time, the investments were led by Continental Grain Co., with participation from Tekfen Ventures, Maumee Ventures, Ag Ventures Alliance, and 1855 Capital.

A $1.5 million investment in 2019 by 1855 Capital and Maumee Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of The Andersons Inc., helped launch the product (GM June 14, 2019). Additionally, Phospholutions recently won a $250,000 investment during The Radicle Challenge by UPL.

Late last year, Phospholutions was also chosen as one of the first five companies selected for the Farm2050 Nutrient Technology Trialing Platform in New Zealand, organized by Finistere Ventures and Innovations Endeavors. New Zealand will join Canada, the U.S., Turkey, India, Brazil, and Africa on the list of global RhizoSorb trial locations planned for 2022.

In the U.S., Phospholutions will continue their partnership with St. Louis-based digital ag company IN10T as they expand their field trial reach to up to 130 additional corn fields across 12 states in the U.S. in 2022 and include farms within the entire Midwest market.

Canada Invests in Sulvaris Technology

Canada, News, News Briefs, Specialty

Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced on July 4 an investment of up to C$1,685,858 for Sulvaris in Calgary, Alberta, to further develop new technology to produce high-efficiency fertilizers made with organic carbon.

Sulvaris, founded in 2012, develops proprietary technologies that transform industrial byproducts into environmentally sustainable and effective fertilizer products.

Sulvaris’ carbon control technology converts various forms of organic waste into high-efficiency fertilizers that are rich in nutrients and soil-building carbon and economical to use in large-scale agriculture, as well as for lawn and plants in commercial and home use.

The company said these fertilizers improve on conventional chemical fertilizers by releasing nutrients more slowly, which gives plants the ability to absorb the nutrients as they need them to develop and grow. The more efficient uptake means less unabsorbed nutrients are left in the soil, reducing the risk of them releasing harmful greenhouse gas emissions or contaminating waterways.

“In the wake of the conflict in Ukraine, our farmers are being called upon to play an even greater role in feeding the world, and we are continuing efforts to ensure they have access to the resources they need,” said Minister Bibeau. “Our investment in Sulvaris’ innovative fertilizer technology recognizes this key ongoing priority to support development of affordable and environmentally sustainable fertilizers that help our farmers improve food supply.”

“Our commitment to a more circular economy by utilizing byproducts from the oil and gas industry and waste biomass from the agriculture and forestry industries is prominent in our strategy to provide solutions to help meet the world’s 2050 zero emission goals and increase sustainable food production through the development of our carbon-based products,” said Sulvaris CEO Rick Knoll. “By developing these products, we can reduce the intensity of GHG emissions as well as contribute to organic carbon in the soil to build healthier and more productive soils.”

New Company Launched to be Australia’s First Industrial-Scale Producer of Green Fertilizer

Australia, News, News Briefs

A new company, H2Gro, Sydney, was launched in Australia on July 5 with the ambition to develop Australia’s green fertilizer industry and have a commercially operating production facility by fourth-quarter 2023. The company said it was formed after seeing the impact of the global shortage in fertilizers, which has led to subsequent price increases and is threatening the supply chain for Australian farmers.

“To combat this global challenge, H2Gro was established with the ambition of building a homegrown green fertilizer industry to ensure sovereignty over the nation’s food & agriculture supply,” said H2Gro Director Tim Brooks.

The company intends to fill this large gap in the market by becoming Australia’s first industrial manufacturer of green urea fertilizer, which will help provide a reliable supply for the Australian fertilizer industry and lower the current reliance on importing carbon-intensive fertilizer from overseas manufacturers.

According to H2Gro’s website, its technology partner, CAC-H2, Melbourne, will conduct the initial feasibility study to provide H2Gro with a platform to produce large volumes of green urea. Biomass such as sandalwood, eucalyptus, cereal straw, and hardwood/softwood residues are being considered as possible feedstock.

H2Gro said it is currently leveraging its strong network of relationships in Western Australia to both secure land for the project, as well as access to 10 million mt of biomass.

The CAC-H2 process would use next-generation gasification to produce high-temperature, ultra-clean syngas, which would be converted to hydrogen, then further converted to ammonia and ultimately urea. The company envisages production lines consisting of modular sections that can be added as input volumes increase.

Each modular section would produce 12,000 mt/y. The total anticipated production is targeted to produce up to 150,000 mt/y of green urea, along with revenue-generating byproducts including biochar, wood vinegar, carbon credits, and renewable electrical power.

Once the agreements are in place, the plant is designed, and building permits are approved, H2Gro will seek a listing on a favorable exchange in first-quarter 2023 to finance the production of their facility. The company said it is set to launch a capital raise in the coming weeks to fund the initial stages of developing the plant.

Progressive Planet Reports Specialty Production

Canada, News, News Briefs, Specialty

Progressive Planet Solutions Inc. (PLAN), Kamloops, B.C., which calls itself a “disruptive innovator for cement and agricultural tech,” announced on July 5 an expansion into custom-blended regenerative fertilizers and soil amendments using new specialty-blending equipment.

The company said it has performed seasonal, single-ingredient toll-processing of regenerative fertilizer powders since August 2020 at its pilot plant, which has now been fully disassembled with all industrial-sized equipment moved to Kamloops.

Utilizing blending equipment that came fully paid for with the February acquisition of Absorbent Products Ltd., a manufacturer of mineral-based products derived from diatomaceous earth, zeolite, and bentonite, PLAN said it can now uniformly mix up to 20 mt/h multi-ingredient custom fertilizer powders to exact customer specifications.

PLAN announced that this week it began the first commercial production of Hydr8™ in partnership with Eco Health Industries Ltd., Maple Ridge, B.C., which developed the product. Hydr8 is a soil amendment that is a blend of biochar, zeolite, and humates, and the company said its addition to native soils increases the viability of transplants and improves plant resistance to drought and stress.

PLAN said the next phase of product offerings will come from the ability to convert fertilizer powders into pellets to enable application of specialty fertilizer pellets using traditional broadcast fertilizer spreaders.

To enter the pelleted fertilizer market, PLAN ordered a 16-foot-wide disc pelletizer in May 2022 and expects delivery in August 2022, with plans to begin producing both single-ingredient and custom-blend regenerative fertilizer pellets in fall of 2022.

Lida Resources Announces Reverse Takeover of Continental Potash

News, News Briefs, Potash, Saskatchewan, Vancouver

Lida Resources Inc., Vancouver, B.C., a publicly traded mineral exploration company with a focus on South America, particularly Peru, on July 7 reported that it has entered into a letter of intent (LOI) dated July 6, 2022, with Continental Potash Corp., a private corporation, pursuant to which Lida is proposing to acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of Continental Potash, whereby the security holders of Continental Potash will become security holders of the combined entity.

Upon completion of the proposed transaction, the resulting issuer will continue to carry on the business of Continental Potash as currently constituted. Lida said the proposed, arm’s length transaction will constitute a reverse takeover of Lida by Continental Potash.

The trading of Lida shares was halted on the Canadian Stock Exchange due to the proposed transaction.

According to Lida, Continental Potash holds an option to acquire up to a 100% interest in certain rights, title, and interests (subject to certain royalties) in the Disley Prospect Area, located 50 kilometers northwest of Regina, Sask., and 215 kilometers southeast of Saskatoon.

Fertoz, Excel Partner on Pellet Plant; New Phosphate Discovery Reported

Australia, News, News Briefs, NPK, Pacific N.W., Phosphate Rock, Specialty, Western Canada

Fertoz Ltd., an Australian-based organic fertilizer manufacturer and supplier with mining operations primarily in British Columbia, has invested $1.28 million to jointly develop a fertilizer pellet plant with Montana-based Excel Industries, which supplies organic chicken litter-based fertilizer and compost, as well as other products, to growers in Montana.

Fertoz will work with Excel and its affiliate Range Cubes Mill LLC, based in Kinsey, Mont. Construction is under way on the Montana plant, which boasts good rail access. It will be capable of producing 80,000 mt/y of pellets, with first sales targeted for the end of this year.

The pellets will contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) for the organic and regenerative agriculture market in North America, which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 14% over the next five years.

Daniel Gleeson, who was named Fertoz CEO in April, said demand for complete organic NPK products is high, but they have been very limited to growers in the past. The Fertoz rock phosphate will add value to Excel’s products.

Montana is well located in terms of sourcing key input ingredients cost-effectively, including from Fertoz’s nearby rock phosphate mines, as well as its proximity to organic markets in the U.S. West Coast and Pacific Northwest, as well as Alberta and Saskatchewan.

“Our facility will have the ability to make custom blends of NPK, based on growers’ true soil requirements plus other key elements, including microbes and humates, creating a truly value-added product to increase soil health and maximize product utilization,” Gleeson said.

The pellets will allow Fertoz and Excel to effectively deliver at half the cost the same nutritional benefits as synthetic fertilizer, which often is used only up to 40% in the soil due to leaching and other issues, he added, noting capital payback is expected within 15 months.

Fertoz is evaluating leasing options, as well as USDA grants, to assist with funding while maintaining balance sheet flexibility. It is estimated that sustainable farming practices are used on more than 140 million acres nationwide.

Gleeson also announced that Fertoz has discovered high-grade rock phosphate in the Fernie region of B.C. that will add easily accessible phosphate to its future supply capabilities to help meet growing future demand.

Incitec Pivot Ltd. – Management Brief

Australia, Management Briefs

Incitec Pivot Ltd. (IPL), Southbank, Victoria, on July 6 announced the appointment of Chris Opperman as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) designate of the proposed standalone Incitec Pivot Fertilisers business.

IPL said Opperman will lead the fertilizer separation workstream ahead of the shareholder vote on the proposed structural separation in the first half of 2023. The appointment follows Opperman’s role as Interim IPL CFO until June 30. Paul Victor commenced as IPL’s CFO on July 1, with his appointment announced in March (GM March 25, p. 27).

The Australian company announced on May 23 its plan to demerge its fertilizer and mining explosives divisions into two separate Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listed companies by mid-2023 (GM May 27, p. 1).

Opperman is an experienced leader who has over 20 years of experience in finance, accounting, and investor relations. Since joining IPL in 2010, he has held a number of senior leadership positions within the finance team, including as General Manager – Group Finance & Investor Relations and CFO of the Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific business unit.

Belarus Potash Exports via Russian Ports Reported

Belarus, Lithuania, News, News Briefs, Potash, Russia

Belarusian potash producer Belaruskali OAO has started to ship products through Russian ports, Russia’s Kommersant reported on July 4, citing unidentified people familiar with details.

Belaruskali has signed a contract with St. Petersburg-based operator Keystone Logistics LLC to transship 2 million mt of potash in containers through 2023, according to Bloomberg, citing the Kommersant report.

Shipments will be directed through Petrolesport and Neva-Metal terminals in St. Petersburg’s Bolshoi Port, as well as through the Rybny Port in Vladivostok.

Belarus has not been able to export potash – or NPKs – via Lithuanian rail since Feb. 1 following the Lithuanian government’s decision to end the railway transit contract between the country’s state-owned railway company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai’s (LTG) and Belaruskali over national security concerns (GM Jan. 14, p. 1). The decision followed the imposition of European Union (E.U.) and U.S. sanctions on Belarusian potash trade.

For Belarus, the Lithuanian ruling meant Belaruskali and its potash marketing/export arm, Belarusian Potash Co. (BPC), lost their key potash export route, as most of Belarus’ potash for export previously was railed via Lithuania’s rail system for onward shipment from the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda.

According to this week’s report, Belaruskali and BPC are also shipping potash to China in containers by rail through Russia, shipping about 120,000 mt of potash to China last month.

These latter volumes could well be part of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) BPC and China’s CNAMPGC signed in May 2019 for supplying over 500,000 mt of potash to China in containers over a five-year period from 2019 through 2023 (GM May 24, 2019).

Previous to this agreement, BPC had said it was making some 10% of its potash exports as container shipments.

Interfax this week also reported the start of Belarus potash via Russian ports, cited an earlier Kommersant report citing unnamed sources that Belaruskali/BPC has been selling product “at a 30%-50%” discount to current prices on the global market when exporting potash via Russian ports. The report could not be independently verified by Green Markets’ press time.

German Gas Crisis Deepens; Poland Gas Concerns; More Ammonia Production Cuts Expected, Says Analyst

Ammonia, Germany, Natural Gas, News, News Briefs, Poland, Russia, Urea

German ministers are racing to get measures in place following recently approved legislation allowing the government to rescue struggling energy companies and other firms before the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline supplying Russian gas to the country is temporarily shut down for maintenance on July 11.

The pipeline is the European Union’s (E.U.) single biggest piece of gas import infrastructure, and Berlin fears Moscow may delay turning it back on again, or further reduce flows – or even turn off the taps for good. Germany is particularly reliant on Russian natural gas, taking over 50% of its gas supplies from Russia last year.

German energy giant Uniper SE, whose business depends on cheap Russian gas, is set to be the first to receive government support. The company recently said it is expected to receive just 40% of its allocated gas from Russian gas supplier Gazprom PJSC (GM July 1, p. 1).

Officials said on July 4 that Uniper needed as much as €9 billion (approximately $9.2 billion), about twice as much as its market value, Bloomberg reported. Analysts estimate that reduced Russian gas flows are costing the energy giant some €30 million a day, according to the Bloomberg report.

While Uniper is the most urgent concern, the broader German economy is also in peril as the government tries to contain the fallout for consumers and industry.

Germany’s largest ammonia and urea producer, SKW Piesteritz GmbH, this week is reported to have brought forward a planned turnaround on one of its two ammonia lines. It is unclear if this is due to the temporary shutdown of Nord Stream 1 and/or due to other factors.

SKW has two ammonia plants, each with capacity to produce 0.54 million mt/y, according to the Green Markets Capacity Database.

The company was reported to be considering implementing force majeure if gas supplies are cut and gas prices increase further, according to media reports.

BASF said in late June that natural gas was being supplied to all its European sites “in line with demand,” according to a company spokesperson as cited by a Reuters report.

“BASF is monitoring the situation and will decide, depending on the situation, which adjustments may have to be made in the production value chains,” the spokesperson told Reuters.

A possible shutdown of the chemical major’s flagship Ludwigshafen site could be compensated by the company’s production facilities in Antwerp and in the U.S., according to Germany’s Baader Bank AG.

Meanwhile, Scotiabank analyst Ben Isaacson, as cited by Bloomberg, noted on July 5 that ammonia production cuts in the E.U. “are underway.”

“We see more of these cuts coming from reduced gas supply to Germany, rather than through negative cash economics,” he said.

In Poland, meanwhile, industrial companies are preparing emergency plans in case of gas rationing in the country, Bloomberg reported, citing Polish newspaper Puls Biznesu.

The newspaper also reported that Poland’s chemicals industry – a key user of gas – is in talks with public administration officials concerning the possibility of outages at some production facilities, possibly for a month, in exchange for compensation.

BDM analyst Krystian Brymora, as cited by a Bloomberg  report, said on July 5 that traders may be concerned about polish fertilizers and chemicals producer Grupa Azoty SA’s ability to retain access to gas amid growing supply difficulties.

However, Bank Pekao SA analyst Krzysztof Koziel, also cited by Bloomberg, said Azoty may post strong earnings in coming quarters, given attractive prices for gas locked into contracts.

Azoty and Polish oil and gas major PGNiG late this week once again extended terms of their natural gas supply contract, this time through the end of September 2023, according to a PAP Biznes report on July 7, citing market filings by both companies. The overall value of the contract extension annexes is now estimated at Pln13.4 billion (approximately $2.85 billion at current exchange rates), according to the report.

Benchmark gas futures on the TTF gas futures in Amsterdam have been rising further this week, with the front-month contract (currently August) up 7.895% on the day by 3:59 p.m. (GMT) on July 7, at €184.5 per megawatt hour (MWh). This compares to the August contract’s July 1 opening at €147.785 per MWh.