Nitricity announces $10M in fresh funding for first-of-a-kind organic fertilizer plant in Central California

Innovative facility will scale production of cost-competitive organic nitrogen fertilizer, creating 20 jobs in Merced County.

FREMONT and DELHI, Calif., March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nitricity Inc., a California startup electrifying the production of nitrogen fertilizer, today announced $10 million in project funding from a strategic mix of capital providers that includes Elemental Impact and Trellis Climate to build a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) organic fertilizer facility in Delhi, California.

Nitricity's FOAK plant represents a major milestone, marking a 100-fold increase in production capacity to achieve commercial-scale volumes. Slated for operation in 2026, the plant's full production capacity is already sold out through 2028 under binding offtake agreements with local organic growers. Located in Merced County, the project is expected to create approximately 20 jobs supporting fabrication, deployment, and maintenance.

"We are proud to scale up our manufacturing capacity of a product that creates value for California growers—made locally with local ingredients," said Nicolas Pinkowski, CEO of Nitricity. "In a market where most nitrogen is imported, our solution onshores production to deliver exactly what growers have been asking for: a sustainable, organic alternative that strengthens farmers' bottom lines and benefits our community and environment."

The facility will brew Nitricity's flagship organic nitrogen fertilizer using recycled almond shells and renewable power. This cost-competitive, plant-based solution is pathogen-free, odor-free, and designed for application through irrigation lines. The product is approved for use in organic farming, registered with OMRI and CDFA OIM. By leveraging local agricultural byproducts, the project strengthens the region's circular bioeconomy and aims to produce hundreds of tons of low-carbon nitrogen by 2028.

"As one of dozens of FOAKs we've funded, Nitricity's facility proves sustainable fertilizer can be produced at scale while providing local economic benefits," said Danya Hakeem, VP of Portfolio at Elemental Impact. "Building on our initial investment in 2022, which supported the construction of their Fremont facility and successful field trials in the Central Valley, we're confident they're ready for this next frontier. There's clear market demand that will position them for future commercial financing."

Globally, traditional fertilizers account for about 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Elemental Impact and Trellis Climate are delighted to support Nitricity's FOAK plant as a first step to addressing this massive source of emissions, while also providing economic benefits to the Merced community and the environmental benefit of transforming agricultural waste into a valuable product.

"Nitricity's solution is unique in the industry in that it addresses both the production emissions from making fertilizers and the on-field emissions from applying them," said Lara Pierpoint, Managing Director of Trellis Climate. "We're excited to accelerate the scale-up of this technology and to partner with a company that recognizes the critical role of community engagement in project success. By integrating technology development with meaningful collaboration with local partners, Nitricity is well-positioned to scale rapidly and effectively."

About Nitricity

Nitricity is a climate-tech startup creating sustainable, organic nitrogen fertilizers by harnessing air, water, renewable energy, and almond shells. Founded by a team of graduate students from Stanford University in 2018 — Nicolas Pinkowski serving as CEO, Joshua McEnaney serving as president and CTO, and Jay Schwalbe serving as CSO — The company is scaling its clean technology to enable regional, plant-based fertilizer production for a more sustainable farming future. For more information, visit www.nitricity.co.

About Elemental Impact

Elemental Impact is a nonprofit investing platform with 15 years of experience advancing innovative technology that creates lasting economic and climate benefits across communities. Through our platform, we deploy catalytic capital and provide expert services to a portfolio of 160+ companies across energy, agriculture, transportation, industry, and nature-based solutions.

For more information, visit www.elementalimpact.com.

About Trellis Climate

Trellis Climate is an impact-first catalytic capital program, launched at Prime Coalition, enabling novel climate infrastructure solutions to achieve commercial scale at speed. Committed to accelerating the deployment of first-of-a-kind (FOAK) climate projects, Trellis Climate focuses on opportunities with significant climate impact potential, a clear path to scale, and an acute need for catalytic capital. Trellis Climate addresses both financial and systemic barriers by offering risk-tolerant investment capital and sector transformation nonprofit programming, including support for robust partnerships and inclusive decision-making with surrounding communities. By leveraging philanthropy to crowd in as much commercial capital as possible, Trellis Climate aims to expedite the scaling of climate technologies to achieve net-zero targets by 2050. For more information, visit https://www.primecoalition.org/programs/trellis-climate.

Media Contact
David Ganske
[email protected]

SOURCE Nitricity Inc.