Green Fertilizer Program

The Green Fertilizer Grant Program provides funding to agricultural and rural electric cooperatives to invest in green fertilizer production facilities located in Minnesota. Program funds can be combined with available federal financial assistance programs, such as the Inflation Reduction Act Green Hydrogen Tax Credit (45V) or Department of Energy loan programs.

Eligibility and funding priorities

Applicants must:

• Be organized under MINN. STAT. 308A or 308B as an agricultural or rural electric cooperative.
• Intend to invest in a facility that produces green fertilizer.
• Commit to a long-term offtake agreement(s) with the green fertilizer production facility.
• Commit to provide training in fertilizer application best management practices and develop a program to share information with cooperative members.
• Be in good standing with the State of Minnesota.

Green fertilizer production facilities must:

• Use renewable energy in the production of anhydrous ammonia, urea, or hydrogen.
• Use green hydrogen to make green fertilizer.
• Only use renewable energy, hydrogen, and ammonia produced within 100 miles of the green fertilizer production facility.
• Produce final green fertilizer product in Minnesota.
• Be operational within five years of the grant agreement effective date.

This grant program will prioritize:

• Projects demonstrating strong business readiness.
• Projects demonstrating support through private financing, state loans, or federal sources.
• Projects located in Minnesota counties with a poverty rate greater than 9%. (Minnesota Poverty – Map)

Amount available

We have approximately $6.665 million available for eligible projects. The minimum grant award is $250,000 and the maximum grant amount is $6.665 million.

The total number of awards and the funding per award will be determined through a competitive proposal review process. Cooperatives may apply for funding to invest in multiple green fertilizer production facilities – each facility requires its own application.

This grant requires matching funds. Cooperatives must provide at least 50% of the total investment cost.

Applying

Applications are due by 4 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

1. Carefully read the full Green Fertilizer Grant Request for Proposals (PDF) for eligibility and requirements.
2. Apply online.
   • If you are a new user, you’ll need to create an account first.
   • Once you’re logged in, select “Green Fertilizer Grant.”

Contact us if you need this information in an alternative format.

Definitions

• Green fertilizer – Means a nitrogen-based fertilizer produced from green hydrogen.
• Green hydrogen – Means hydrogen produced by splitting water molecules using either 1) grid-based electrolyzers that have matched their electricity consumption with wind or solar, or 2) electrolyzers connected directly to a wind or solar facility. The green hydrogen must have a carbon intensity not greater than four kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram of hydrogen produced. This carbon intensity threshold aligns with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Clean Hydrogen provisions.
• Carbon intensity – Means a measure of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for the process to produce a unit of energy or product. Carbon intensity is a way to compare environmental impacts of different fuels, products, and activities. The U.S. Department of Energy Argonne Laboratory GREET model assesses lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of fuels and products like hydrogen.

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Green fertilizer process

1. Renewable energy is created from solar and wind.
2. The energy powers an electrolyzer which splits water (H20) into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2).
3. At the same time, a process of air separation gathers nitrogen (N2) and is stored with the hydrogen (H2) collected from electrolysis.
4. The hydrogen and nitrogen are combined into ammonia (NH3) at the plant, which can then be used for other products like:
   • Fertilizer
   • Energy storage
   • Ammonia for shipping fuel
   • Renewable chemicals