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# Minnesota wind-to-ammonia plant aims to supply local farmers with more affordable fertilizer

Publication Date: 11.06.2026, 10:00

The University of Minnesota plant makes ammonia from wind, water and air, and is expanding to blunt price swings for farmers.

A wind-powered green ammonia plant at the University of Minnesota is expanding, in a bet that farmer-owned, locally made nitrogen can buffer growers from volatile global fertilizer prices, MinnPost reported.

The [demonstration facility](https://wcroc.cfans.umn.edu/research/renewable-energy/wind-hydrogen) at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris produces about a ton of ammonia a day from wind electricity, water, and air. It uses electrolysis to split hydrogen from water, then combines it with nitrogen from the air through the Haber-Bosch process, removing fossil natural gas from the recipe.

![](https://www.fertilizerdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/wind-to-ammonia-01-1024x786.png)Image Credits: [University of Minnesota](https://system.umn.edu/)

A third electrolyzer being added is expected to lift output toward 300 to 400 tonnes a year. Lead researcher Michael Reese said the site is a gateway to broader green hydrogen uses, from fertilizer to steelmaking.

![](https://www.fertilizerdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/wind-to-ammonia-02-1024x718.png)Image Credits: [University of Minnesota](https://system.umn.edu/)

Minnesota farmers buy roughly 800,000 tonnes of fertilizer a year, and locally produced ammonia could shorten supply chains and dampen price swings tied to gas markets and imports. The work dovetails with a wider state push. A Minnesota green ammonia coalition has lined up an offtake deal under which Central Farm Service would buy locally made ammonia over 10 years, with commercial volumes targeted later this decade.

![](https://www.fertilizerdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/wind-to-ammonia-03-1024x756.png)Image Credits: [University of Minnesota](https://system.umn.edu/)

Researchers caution that scaling green ammonia to commercial cost parity remains the central challenge.

Source: [MinnPost](https://www.minnpost.com/energy/2026/06/this-wind-powered-green-ammonia-plant-could-be-a-gateway-to-buffering-minnesota-farmers-from-volatile-fertilizer-prices/)

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## Five things to know about green ammonia in Minnesota

### What is green ammonia?+

Green ammonia is made using renewable electricity rather than fossil natural gas. Electrolysis splits hydrogen from water, and that hydrogen is combined with nitrogen from the air through the Haber-Bosch process. The result is the same ammonia used as fertilizer, but with a much lower carbon footprint.

### How big is the Morris plant?+

The demonstration plant currently makes about a tonne of ammonia a day. A third electrolyzer being installed is expected to raise annual output toward 300 to 400 tonnes, still a research-scale volume rather than commercial production.

### Why does it matter for farmers?+

Minnesota farmers buy roughly 800,000 tonnes of fertilizer a year, much of it tied to natural gas prices and imports. Locally produced ammonia could shorten supply chains and give growers a hedge against the price volatility that has hit nitrogen markets.

### Who is involved?+

The plant is run by the University of Minnesota's West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris, led by researcher Michael Reese. A separate state coalition is advancing commercial green ammonia, including an offtake agreement under which Central Farm Service would buy locally made ammonia over 10 years.

### What is the catch?+

Cost is the obstacle. Green ammonia remains more expensive to produce than conventional gas-based ammonia, and reaching commercial cost parity is the central challenge before the model can scale beyond demonstration and pilot volumes.