N2 Applied, an agricultural technology business that converts animal manure into sustainable fertiliser while trapping gases, has received £7 million in further funding.
N2 Applied is a Norwegian technology company with offices across the EU and a UK branch in York.
The company has developed a technology that enables local production of fertiliser from liquid organic substrates, i.e. slurry or digestate, with air and electricity.
So how does it work?
Using a scientific technique that applies just air and electricity to slurry, the technology within the N2 Unit performs a plasma conversion that ‘locks in’ both methane and ammonia to the liquid waste material, producing a sustainable fertiliser.
Treated slurry produced on-farm has the potential to reduce the need for chemical fertiliser, and therefore further reduce greenhouse gas emissions
This process enables fertiliser production to be redistributed to the end-user, the farmer – cutting long and expensive value chains, and reducing the need for chemical fertiliser production based on fossil gas or coal. The solution also provides on-farm emission reductions of methane and ammonia, as well as odour.
N2 Applied has run multiple trials and pilot projects across nine countries that have shown practical elimination of emissions and improved grassland yields, as well as the ability to suppress odours from ammonia leakage.
The company is currently moving to offer both further trials and full international commercial availability of its technology, as dairy brands and individual farms seek to reduce emissions from their supply and production chains.
Carl Hansson, N2 Applied CEO said:
“Technology that practically eliminates methane and ammonia emissions has profound implications for the dairy food sector and farms of many sizes. Having proven the scientific capabilities of the N2 Units across multiple trials and environments, this latest investment enables us to accelerate the commercial rollout to a dairy sector that has set ambitious net-zero goals on emissions, for which methane is an enormous factor.
As the dairy industry moves to counter its environmental impact, it is seeking out practical innovation that can tackle the biggest problems while introducing new farming practices.
“Combined, this supports an approach to sustainable food production that can enable more people to be fed with far-reduced impact on our world,” he said.
Signe Bunkholt Sæter, director of sustainability at NorgesGruppen, an investor of the £7 million added:
“We see great potential in this technology as a practical and innovative solution to help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in the dairy industry. We believe that moving to this commercial phase will be important to start realising the promise of N2 Applied after encouraging trials and pilot projects.”
