This article details NTP Technologies, a company based in the US reinventing the way fertilizer products are made and sold.
What is the origin story of NTP Technologies?
NTP began at the beginning of 2021 looking to provide an alternative to synthetic fertilizers that were polluting our air, soil and water. The most visible being water and the development of algae blooms on our coastal waterways. I have a masters in biochemical engineering and came from the oil and gas industry. I also own a hydroponics farm in Maryland.
After some quick market analysis we knew the time was right for an alternative and had stumbled upon non thermal plasma as a way to generate nitrates, just like Mother Nature during a lightning storm. There were a few companies trying to bring the technology to market but none were able to make any penetration into the market, mostly due to economics but also application.
We understood the technology if adopted would change the way fertilizer is produced, but it was more than that we needed to also change the way farmers applied fertilizers. Once the Ukraine/Russia war began and the price of natural gas drove the price of fertilizer to all time highs, up over 300% in some cases, we knew the time was right to push the company forward.
What are some of the biggest challenges facing NTP Technologies in the future?
Our primary challenge is education and adoption. The technology works, it has for over 100 years. We have just brought it into the 21st century by improving upon its core components and optimizing the reactions and outputs.
We have many ideas how to continue to improve the process, increase throughput and increase yields to improve even further on the economics as well as make it easy for the end user to adopt the technology though easy application. This includes the ability to measure and monitor nitrates in almost real time.
We produce a salt free, organic, single molecule nitrate fertilizer that is produced onsite and on demand at the location of use. We eliminate the need for transportation and storage. NTP uses only air and electricity (preferable renewable energy) as inputs thus eliminating the dependency on natural gas price volatility and supply chain disruptions.
Our machines are compact and reliable and come with a warranty. We are looking to rent the machines at a low monthly rate and charge a production fee so you only pay for what you produce.
What is unique about NTP Technologies compared to competitors? How do you measure the impact of your company so far? (Revenue, Employees, Customer Quantity, Production Volume) etc?
NTP uses a unique non thermal plasma generator to ionize the air and create nitrates. The proprietary technology has more than 10 years of R&D behind it. We have conducted dozens of customer interviews and conducted 2 successful pilots, albeit not perfect, and have at least two more on the way.
We are always looking for partners who wish to explore new ways to apply our technology to their agriculture. Our current machine, N*lab, is the size of a microwave and produces enough nitrates during a year for about 2 equivalent acres.
Our next generation machine, N*plus, is in development and is designed to produce enough nitrate for about 100 equivalent acres over a years time. Note that we are looking to install our machines on farms as a distributed network of fertilizer production.
What have you learned that you wish you knew when you joined or started the company?
I wish I could go back and minor in agriculture/agronomy (a bit late for that). I think NTP is a tool that can be used to reduce, if not eliminate the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Someone with a better understanding of nutrients and nutrient applications would really be an asset to the team.
How can people connect with you or learn more about NTP Technologies?
Interested customers, partners, agronomists can find us on LinkedIn or they can just send an email to info@ntptechnologies.com.
Please consider following us on LinkedIn as we change the fertilizer market, one drop at a time.
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