DEERFIELD, ILLINOIS, US — CF Industries and CHS Inc. will work together on production and distribution of low-carbon nitrogen fertilizer.

The initiative was developed as part of the US-UAE’s Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) program that seeks to catalyze global innovation in climate-smart agriculture.

The manufacture of fertilizers, which are essential to crop yields, is a significant contributor to the lifecycle GHG footprint of global food production.

To address the greenhouse gasses (GHG) footprint of food production, both companies will leverage CF Industries’ investments to produce ammonia, which is the building block of nitrogen-based fertilizer products, with lower Scope 1 carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. They also will leverage CHS’ extensive distribution network to place low- and zero-carbon fertilizers with growers.

The companies expect to work together to promote the use of low-GHG nitrogen fertilizer to help farmers and crop end users, such as consumer product goods companies and ethanol producers, reduce the overall carbon footprint of agriculture.

“Decarbonized fertilizer is the future of how we sustainably supply and produce the goods that humanity needs,” said Bert Frost, senior vice president, sales, supply chain and market development, CF Industries. “The advantage of using decarbonized fertilizer is that we can measure the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with its production and transfer that attribute to the farmer who can then provide crops to their customers that have a quantifiably lower GHG footprint. This will enable us to develop a certifiable decarbonized agricultural value chain.”

Brian Schouvieller, senior vice president commercial trade and risk management at CHS, added, “We recognize the importance of helping growers optimize resources as they produce food the world needs. Nitrogen fertilizer is critical to plant growth; zero or low-carbon fertilizer can be an important tool as we pursue solutions that help growers simultaneously achieve their crop production and sustainability goals.”

CF Industries is one of the world’s largest producers of nitrogen fertilizer. It has manufacturing complexes in the United States, Canada and the UK.