@ AGROBiz | March-April. 2026

The funding round, which closed in January, also included Twynam, GrainCorp Ventures, Uniseed / UniSuper, Artesian, SVG Ventures, and Agnition Ventures from New Zealand ' s Ravensdown cooperative.

The capital will support the rollout of fertiliser hubs in New South Wales and Tasmania, expand field trials, and further develop Plasma- Leap ' s modular reactor technology. Future applications in sustainable fuels and energy systems are also planned.

PlasmaLeap, a University of Sydney spin-off, enables farmers to produce nitrogen fertiliser locally, cutting emissions, transport costs, and reliance on the supply chain.

Globally, nitrogen fertiliser production and use account for roughly 2.5 per cent of industrial CO2 emissions, with prices varying

REDUCING CARBON FOOTPRINT: Decentralised production of fertiliser lowers emissions from manufacturing, transport, and application.

widely; some sub-Saharan African markets pay nearly double the world FOB price due to import and logistics challenges.

" The backing of these strategic and institutional investors is strong validation of both the PlasmaLeap technology and the scale of the opportunity," said CEO & Co-founder Frere Byrne.

" This funding allows us to move from successful trials into real-world deployment, demonstrating how clean, decentralised fertiliser and

chemical production can transform agriculture, reduce emissions and guarantee sovereign security of critical resources like food and fuel."

Stian Nygaard of Yara Growth Ventures highlighted the platform ' s energy efficiency and potential to scale competitively. Martin Debaig, Fertigation Director at Yara, called it " the new frontier in agriculture " for precision farming. Ben Lindsay from Investible praised PlasmaLeap for defining a new category in distributed sustainable fertiliser production.

The global ammonia market, valued at about US $ 69 billion annually, is projected to triple over the next 20 years. PlasmaLeap ' s reactors use only air, water, and renewable electricity to produce ammonia and nitrate, improving grower food security, reducing costs, and generating carbon credit opportunities. The company continues to develop technology for broader commercial deployment and low-carbon hydrocarbon production.

WORLD food prices surged in March to their highest levels since September last year and may climb further if the ongoing West Asia conflict that has pushed up energy costs continues, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation( FAO) warned recently.

FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero noted that, so far, the price increases have been relatively moderate. " Price rises since the conflict began have been modest, driven mainly by higher oil prices and cushioned by ample global cereal supplies," he said, according to Mehr news agency( MNA).

However, Torero cautioned that if the conflict persists beyond 40 days and input costs remain elevated, farmers could respond by cutting back on fertiliser and other inputs, planting less, or shifting to crops with lower input requirements.

" Those choices will hit future yields and shape our food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and all of the next," he added.

CONFLICT FUELS COSTS: Ongoing West Asia tensions have pushed energy and farming input prices higher.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks a basket of internationally traded food commodities, rose 2.4 per cent in March compared with its revised February figure.

While the index is roughly one per cent higher than a year ago, it remains nearly 20 per cent below the peak reached in March 2022 following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

The FAO report underscores the vulnerability of global food markets to geopolitical tensions and energy price fluctuations, highlighting potential challenges for farmers and consumers alike.

Rising input costs and shifts in cropping patterns could affect yields, supply chains, and food affordability in the months ahead, particularly if energy-driven costs remain high.

The organisation emphasised the need for continued monitoring and support for agricultural producers to mitigate potential impacts on production and ensure food security in an increasingly uncertain global market.- @ AGROBiz