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.