Minnesota Wind-Powered Ammonia Plant Goes Live
Original: Producing ammonia and fertiliser using wind power in Morris, Minnesota
Why This Matters
Demonstrates economically viable, dynamically operated green ammonia production at farm-cooperative scale.
A renewable ammonia demonstration plant at the University of Minnesota's West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris, Minnesota has begun its first production season, targeting one ton per day of low-carbon ammonia from wind-powered electrolysis for local fertilizer use.
The University of Minnesota (UMN), in collaboration with RTI International and Casale, has brought online a flexible renewable ammonia demonstrator in Morris, Minnesota. The facility uses wind turbines to power electrolyzers that produce hydrogen, which is then fed into a Haber-Bosch plant to synthesize ammonia. A key innovation is its dynamic operation capability: new modeling and control systems allow ammonia output to adjust in real time to fluctuating wind availability, reducing the need for costly hydrogen storage. The plant targets one ton per day of low-carbon ammonia for local fertilizer offtake. Ammonia can be stored in nurse tanks or combined with CO2 byproducts from ethanol production to make urea, Minnesota's most common fertilizer. The project is an upscale of a successful 2013 pilot and is designed to expand into a network of farmer cooperative-owned commercial hubs. UMN Green Ammonia Research Lead Michael Reese noted that Minnesota currently has no other ammonia or nitrogen fertilizer production facilities, and that consistent, moderately priced local supply would allow farmers to budget and plan crop marketing. The project aims to address fertilizer price volatility and supply chain instability while generating in-state economic development.