UK-based crop production giant Frontier Agriculture has today announced it has invested in CCm Technologies, a technology company which has developed a low-carbon fertiliser to help farmers across the country reduce their emissions.
CCm Technologies’ technology combines captured carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with recycled nutrients from other agricultural waste, such as livestock manure and digestates to produce “organo-mineral fertiliser”.
Its fertiliser – CCm Growth – contains nitrogen, phosphate, and potash which are found in typical fertilisers, but also contains fibre which helps to deliver organic matter and carbon back to the soil, so as to improve soil health and sustainability.
As part of the deal, Frontier has secured an exclusive distribution agreement for CCm Growth across England, Scotland, and Wales to provide farms with the fertiliser. The investment will also be used to accelerate CCm Technologies’ expansion, including new plant development and increased production capacity, according to the update.
Andrew Flux, group commercial strategy director at Frontier, said the company’s expertise in sustainable crop production and grain marketing meant it was “well-placed to add key industry insight and technical knowledge to further enrich the CCm proposition”.
“We’re always looking to develop the solutions we provide to both our farmer and consumer customers, ensuring they meet the challenges faced now and in the future,” he said. “Being directly involved in the development of CCm’s technology going forward means we can better support all parts of the supply chain to meet reduced emissions targets, contributing to more sustainable food production systems overall.”
Pawel Kisielewski, chief executive of CCm Technologies, welcomed the new investment. “We are delighted with this collaboration which brings an alignment of interest with the UK’s leading provider of crop production advice and grain marketing solutions and will further speed the expansion of our production plans,” he said.
The deal is set to enhance CCm’s engagement with farmers across the country, including those it is already working with as part of a major deal with PepsiCo.
Since 2020, CCm has been working with the multinational to supply its oats and potato farmers across the UK with low-carbon fertilisers, as part of the company’s ongoing effort to decarbonise its value chain.
David Wilkinson, head of agricultural procurement at PepsiCo Europe, said the company was “delighted” to be collaborating with Frontier and CCm in the next phase of CCm’s expansion.
“The next phase of work with CCm and the collaboration underway with farmers and consumer businesses is exciting,” he said. Â “It demonstrates the importance of long-term partnerships in our industry if we are to meet our collective net zero targets and environmental goals while safeguarding food production and continuity of supply.”
Frontier’s investment in CCm Technologies comes after a three-year trial period which saw the companies working together to test the fertiliser as part of Frontier’s ‘3D Thinking’ research programme.
The trial has seen CCm Growth deployed at Frontier’s Haywold and Bleasby demonstration sites, where CCm Growth was examined as a straight comparison to standard fertiliser products as well as in combination to them, according to the update.
Frontier said it had seen “positive results” at the trials at both sites in 2022 and 2023. “2023 wasn’t quite as good as 2022, but much of that was potentially down to environmental factors during a challenging season,” said Edward Downing, national crop nutrition technical manager at Frontier. “Despite that, the results were still really pleasing. It was great to see it perform on par with typical fertiliser, both in terms of yield and protein.”
Downing added that there was “nothing like this product on the market today” and pointed to analysis from the Carbon Trust which showed the product had a negative carbon footprint. “It’s literally taking carbon out of the atmosphere and adding it to the soil,” he said.
Following the investment, Frontier said it planned to expand its research into seven new trials this year, including 16 on-site farm comparisons.
During these trials, Frontier said it would directly with growers to test the spread and accuracy of the product, as well as the logistics of handling and storing it on the farm, according to the update.Â
“There’s a real focus on the practicalities – for example, can it be applied using the farm’s existing fertiliser spreader?” Downing said of the upcoming work. “Growers rightly need to understand what else might be required and how it shapes up against what they are using already. Though the product isn’t commercially available while this work continues, pricewise it should be comparable to typical fertiliser products on the market.”
You can now sign up to attend the fifth annual Net Zero Festival, which will be hosted by BusinessGreen on October 22-23 at the Business Design Centre in London.