Global food and beverage manufacturer PepsiCo will collaborate with firms TalusAg and S3 markets to develop a low-carbon ammonia certification system which could help to decarbonise the wider fertilizer and agriculture supply chain.
The collaboration also includes a supply agreement between PepsiCo and TalusAg for 30,000t low-carbon ammonia with an option to increase volumes to a total of 71,000t over an unspecified time frame, the firms said.
Agricultural technology firm TalusAg has developed a small modular ammonia system which uses renewable power to produce ammonia at or near the point of use. The firm has a 1,000 t/yr renewable ammonia pilot project in Boone, Iowa already in operation. The firm has a second project planned in Eagle Grove, Iowa, which will produce around 7,000 t/yr. Both sites are strategically located within the US' Corn Belt and will supply local farmers for direct ammonia application. TalusAg is also working with Australian developer Minbos on a renewable ammonia project in Angola.
TalusAg plans to generate environmental attribute certificates (EACs) from its Boone project via S3 markets. S3 markets is an EAC provider for low-carbon commodities operating with verified blockchain technology. Together with PepsiCo, the firms hope to develop a tradeable market for EACs of low-carbon ammonia with a book-and-claim chain of custody model, similar to the way in which renewable electricity certificates operate and can be traded.
A book-and-claim certification system for ammonia would allow end users of agricultural products like PepsiCo to address the emissions in their supply chains through the purchase of EACs for low-carbon fertilizers, thereby supporting production costs but without forcing farmers to pay a premium they cannot afford.
The initial agreement will cover PepsiCo's European, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia-Pacific and global teams, the firm said.
PepsiCo also signed an agreement last month with US fertilizer producer CF industries for the supply of low-carbon urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer (UAN).
Similar initiatives are already underway to develop EACs for ammonia, reflecting the industry's growing need to find a way to bypass farmers' inability to pay increased costs for low-carbon fertilizers. These initiatives include the Low Carbon Fertilizer Alliance, of which ammonia producer CF is a founding member, and the Ammonia Energy Association's pilot book-and-claim certification system which launched last year.
