A new approach to producing nitrogen fertiliser in Australia is taking shape, with technology company PlasmaLeap Technologies securing almost $30 million in Series A funding to advance its early on-farm and regional production systems.

GrainCorp’s corporate venture capital arm, GrainCorp Ventures, joined the round alongside investors including the Gates Foundation, Yara Growth Ventures, Investible, Twynam, UniSuper/Uniseed, and other Artesian partners GRDC (through GrainInnovate) and Hort Innovation.

Nitrogen fertiliser is a critical input for growers, but conventional production relies on large, centralised plants that often sit far from farming regions.

These facilities typically require significant energy to operate and rely on global supply chains to deliver product to Australia, exposing growers to fluctuations in pricing, shipping, and geopolitical conditions.

PlasmaLeap is developing small scale, modular systems designed to produce ammonia and nitrate using air, water and renewable electricity.

These units could allow fertiliser to be made locally, either on farms or at nearby hubs, with the aim of reducing emissions, transport costs and reliance on long supply chains.

This funding round will support PlasmaLeap’s first fertiliser hubs in New South Wales and Tasmania, along with expanded field trials.

“These pilot hubs will play an important role in testing how the technology fits into existing farming systems, how reliably it produces fertiliser under practical conditions, and what operational model could work best for growers,” says GrainCorp Strategy and Ventures Manager Zack Atlas.

“PlasmaLeap’s fertiliser technology has the potential to help growers reduce costs and drive meaningful decarbonisation efforts.”

For GrainCorp Ventures, the investment aligns with efforts to support emerging technologies that may strengthen the long-term resilience of the agri-supply chain.

Learn more here.