Food companies join new alliance to drive demand for green ammonia fertilizer

The Center for Green Market Activation (GMA), RMI and 3Degrees have launched the Green Ammonia Buyers Alliance (GABA), an initiative designed to help food and beverage companies support investment in green ammonia-based fertilizer production. The alliance brings together corporate buyers to create demand for green ammonia, which is produced using renewable electricity and water instead of natural gas.

The organizations said ammonia production is one of the largest sources of emissions in fertilizer manufacturing. They estimate that the fertilizer value chain generates about 1.2 gigatons of CO₂e annually. Green ammonia could eliminate nearly all emissions associated with the ammonia production process, according to the release.

GABA will use a collective procurement and book-and-claim model under which participating companies purchase Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) from verified green ammonia producers. The approach is intended to provide producers and project developers with greater demand visibility and revenue certainty. The alliance plans to conduct its first pilot procurement in the fourth quarter of 2026, with participating companies expected to help shape the program and potentially receive first-mover discounts through 2027.

The initiative targets a gap in the fertilizer supply chain: food and beverage companies are several steps removed from ammonia production but increasingly have Scope 3 emissions targets that include agricultural supply chains. GABA’s organizers said collective purchasing could provide a market signal strong enough to help green ammonia projects progress from announced plans to construction and operation.

GABA builds on the Low Carbon Fertilizer Alliance (LCFA), a 3Degrees-led initiative that includes 25 food and beverage companies and focuses on using market-based mechanisms to support emissions reductions at existing fertilizer plants through measures including blue ammonia and nitric acid decarbonization. The new alliance will instead focus specifically on supporting the development of green ammonia production.

RMI Managing Director Thomas Koch Blank said the initiative is intended to apply lessons from other sectors where collective corporate demand has been used to support emerging low-carbon markets. GMA CEO Kim Carnahan said individual companies cannot scale the green ammonia market alone and that collective purchasing can help create demand for projects seeking financing.