ECT signs MoU with soil health solutions provider

This agreement marks the beginning of a collaborative effort to produce soil health products utilising the Company’s net-zero COLDry process. The joint venture aims to develop cost-effective soil health products aligned with ECT's three-pillar strategy of agriculture, industry, and energy applications.

The agricultural sector faces unprecedented challenges, grappling with soaring costs of conventional fertilizers, deteriorating sustainability, collapsing carbon content in soils and the pervasive impacts of climate change. In response, ECT and ESG Agriculture are committed to meeting market demand for alternative, cost effective fertilisers that nourish soil and crops and put carbon back into our soils.

Combining ECT’s expertise in low-emission materials processing with ESG's expertise in granulation, soil health product development, and farmer networks, this joint venture will drive the development of a soil health product stream at ECT’s net-zero COLDry project at Bacchus Marsh, which is being developed under its previously announced ‘Race to Revenue’ strategy.

The formulation of Maddingley lignite, with specifically chosen nutrients, provides ECT with the capacity to produce soil health products customised to the application, varying feedstocks according to availability and price.

Under the binding terms of the MOU, ECT will produce a blended COLDry feedstock for ESG suitable for a granulated soil health product (fertilizer).

This project is to be broken into multiple phases:

• Phase 1 and 2 – test programme to blend and granulate composite COLDry pellets to determine optimal product result, followed by assessment of granulation process design and feedstock blends to drive price and complete the binding offtake agreements this quarter.
• Phase 3 – expanded field trials and end-user marketing during the construction phase of the BM project.
• Phase 4 – optimise production up to ~52 000 tpy of finished product.
• Phase 5 – with the aim of continuing to expand product options, ECT and ESG will jointly undertake R&D to optimise production processes and formulations.
• Phase 6 – once the initial plant capacity volume has been sold under offtake, the joint venture will assess further optimisation of production capacity at the Bacchus Marsh plant as well as develop markets for the char product produced through ECT’s proposed pyrolysis process.
• Phase 7 – collaboratively investigate and develop greenfield production at a site in (a) Latrobe Valley, Victoria and (b) South Australia.

ECT Managing Director Sam Rizzo commented: “The MoU with ESG is a pivotal moment for us. It marks the start of an exciting collaboration to enhance soil health. This joint reflects our commitment to innovation and sustainability and sets the stage for significant growth and impact in agriculture and beyond. While it's just the beginning within Australia's US$7 billion fertilizer market, it's one of many steps we're eager to take, both here and globally."

ESG Agriculture Director, Mark Scanlon commented: “This MoU with ECT is a significant joint venture that enhances our capacity to provide end-to-end value chain solutions and to support the agricultural sector through soil health products, meaningful reporting and other ESG advisory services."

Read the article online at: https://www.worldfertilizer.com/special-reports/04042024/ect-signs-mou-with-soil-health-solutions-provider/