This article was featured in the March/April 2025 issue of Future Farmer magazine. Read the full issue here!
Hiro Iwanaga | Co-founder and CEO of Talus Renewables
His Cultivate Talk in One Sentence: How local, domestic production of green ammonia ensures cost-competitive, reliable, and sustainable fertilizer supply for American farmers.
Hiro Iwanaga is the CEO and Co-Founder of Talus Renewables, where he has led the creation of the world’s first modular, carbon-free green ammonia system, which has applications in the agriculture, manufacturing, and renewable fuel industries. Mr. Iwanaga serves on the Board of Directors for The Leo Project, a nonprofit offering free educational programs in Kenya, and holds leadership roles at Stanford University’s LEAD Council and the San Francisco Ballet. Mr. Iwanaga received his M.S. and B.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University in California.
The Inception of TalusAg
You started in tech and finance. What led you to agriculture?
TalusAg actually started as a philanthropic project. Back in 2008, I funded research at my alma mater Stanford to develop modular, small-scale green ammonia systems—a way to tackle food security in the developing world. Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa pay nearly three times what farmers in the Corn Belt do for nitrogen fertilizer, and even getting access to it is a challenge. We knew that local production could lower costs, improve reliability, and reduce environmental impact.
That research evolved, and by 2017, I realized we had something commercially viable. Alongside David Toyne, we co-founded TalusAg to bring this cost-competitive, carbon-free fertilizer to the U.S. and beyond. Our first system, deployed in Naivasha, Kenya in 2023, cut fertilizer costs by 30-40%—and we’re now expanding across the U.S.
It was truly serendipitous—what started as a philanthropic research project turned into a business that can lower costs, improve supply chains, and reduce carbon emissions.
What We Should Know About Green Ammonia
What excites you most about speaking at Cultivate 2025 this year?
I’m excited to talk about the benefits of green ammonia.
Educating the industry on green ammonia is key—it’s a reliable, carbon-free raw material that can be produced locally. With on-site facilities, it can be made near the point of use and economically deployed on commercial farms or in rural farming communities, providing greater control over supply and distribution. Local production reduces ammonia distribution and delivery costs, lowering the final price for farmers while strengthening U.S. farmer competitiveness and food security. It also reduces corn CI (carbon intensity) scores by 25-30%, creating real value in today’s downstream food and fuel markets.
What makes TalusAg’s technology different from other crop nutrition fertilizers?
Ammonia is ammonia—but at TalusAg, we want to help farmers access the same cost-effective, local, and reliable commodity they’re used to, with the added benefit of being carbon-free. With potential import tariffs threatening fertilizer supply chains, we’re committed to producing green ammonia locally and strengthening supply chain resilience for American farmers.
Did You Know?
Ammonia is the world’s second most-produced chemical, with about 80% used in nitrogen fertilizers.
(Source: International Renewable Energy Agency, 2022)
Can you dive deeper into why local ammonia production is so important for farmers today?
Ammonia is typically produced in large, centralized plants and transported by ship, rail, barge, truck, or pipeline to its final destination. The U.S. remains a net importer, with China as the largest producer and Russia as the largest exporter. These global supply chains come with significant risks, especially for U.S. farmers. While some regions have strong transport infrastructure, many inland or rural farming areas lack easy access. Potential import tariffs could further impact prices, fertilizer availability, and the competitiveness of U.S. grain in global markets. I believe increasing domestic production near points of demand is critical to addressing these challenges.
What’s Next for AgTech and TalusAg?
As you look to the future of TalusAg, what can we get excited about?
We are approaching a turning point for green ammonia production in the United States. Our facility in Boone, IA—developed in partnership with Landus—marks the first commercial, modular green ammonia system in North America. Our team is also focused on deploying and commissioning a system in Spain, in partnership with Maxam, to supply AN to the mining industry. Meanwhile, our first TalusTen system in Eagle Grove, IA, will produce up to 20 tons of ammonia per day using only electricity, water, and air.
Through our strategic partnership, TalusAg and Landus are actively expanding green ammonia production across the Corn Belt, with plans to scale nationwide.
Let’s dream even bigger now. If resources weren’t a limitation, what groundbreaking AgTech innovation would you pursue, and what challenge would it solve?
Our mission would remain the same—to build a sustainable future by improving access to food and fuels technology for all. One exciting possibility would be the ability to economically produce granular fertilizers at our scale. These fertilizers are widely used in the developing world and are much easier to handle than ammonia.
To our knowledge, small-scale urea manufacturing doesn’t exist today. Urea plants are typically large and require a CO₂ source, so it’s not an area we’re currently investing in for R&D. However, it’s a question we get asked often—can we make urea?
Final Thoughts
“I believe that humans have phenomenal capacity and can overcome most any obstacle they face. I’m a big believer in the ingenuity of people in general, especially the American farmer.”
