International Collaboration Advances Sustainable Nitrogen Management at 2026 NICCEE Summer Series
The 2026 Nitrogen Summer Institute and Canadian Green Ammonia Governance Workshop proudly hosted more than 70 researchers, students, and stakeholders in Guelph, ON!
Improving our understanding of the impact of nitrogen and “green ammonia” on climate change and the environment
The Global Nitrogen Innovation Center for Clean Energy and the Environment (NICCEE) is dedicated to sustainable nitrogen management and fostering both research and innovation around the globe. As a transdisciplinary and transnational network, we bring together leading institutions and experts from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Morocco, and beyond.
Our mission is to accelerate socioeconomic and technological advancements that support climate-smart nitrogen management, with a particular focus on the transformative potential of green ammonia. Through cutting-edge and user-inspired research, NICCEE is leading the charge in uniting science, industry, and policy to advance sustainable nitrogen management for a more resilient future.
Key functions:
- Information hub: Providing data, research, and insights on the lifecycle and effects of nitrogen in agriculture-food-energy systems.
- Innovation platform: Partnering with stakeholders to co-develop technological and socioeconomic solutions for nitrogen management.
- Education center: Supporting the next generation of scientists and innovators to champion sustainable nitrogen management.
What is green ammonia?
Green ammonia, produced using renewable energy, is poised to revolutionize agriculture, transportation and energy worldwide, offering both transformational opportunities and disruptive hazards. In the transportation sector, green ammonia is a viable and promising option to decarbonize marine shipping, but doing so would likely triple the amount of reactive nitrogen that humans introduce to the biosphere, which could exacerbate coastal pollution, disrupt oceanic nitrogen cycling, and increase nitrous oxide emissions.
In the agricultural sector, green ammonia technology could lead to decentralization of fertilizer production, which stands in contrast to the current centralized, carbon-intensive production methods. This shift could enhance fertilizer use and bolster food production in countries where nitrogen fertilizer accessibility has been limited, thus improving crop production, economic prosperity, nutrition, and food security. It could also enable farmers in industrialized countries to improve the timing and dosing of fertilizer to better match crop needs and thereby reduce nitrogen losses. However, more abundantly available nitrogen fertilizer could also exacerbate the current severe environmental problems of nitrogen losses to air and water from overuse and inefficient use of nitrogen fertilizers.
Although this technological transformation appears to be close at hand, we are only beginning to contemplate the wide-ranging consequences, both good and bad, that are likely to ensue. Several green ammonia plants are already planned or under construction in Australia, South Africa, and the U.S. with production capacity ranging from several hundred to more than a million tons per year, and modular on-farm units are being produced in Canada and elsewhere. Hence, it is both necessary and urgent to identify and examine the potential benefits and unintended consequences of green ammonia development.
Green Ammonia in US Agriculture:
Policy Pathways to Decarbonize Fertilizer Production and Empower Rural Communities
A new policy brief from NICCEE’s Innovation Hub.
Partner Profiles: NICCEE's Exclusive Interview Series
Learn about NICCEE’s collaborators in the NICCEE Partner Profile series!
Our latest profile features FuelPositive co-founders Ian Clifford and Luna Charlebois, discussing FuelPositive’s decentralized, on-farm green ammonia systems, farmer independence, supply chain resilience, and more.
