Could lightning-inspired fertilizer be a climate-friendly option for Canadian farmers?
Could lightning-inspired fertilizer be a climate-friendly option for Canadian farmers?
Publish Date: 2026-06-21 04:00:00
Source Domain: www.cbc.ca
LISTEN | It’s controversial, but proponents say the proof is in the plants:
What On Earth27:49Is lightning in a box a climate solution for farmers?
It sounds like weird science and some have dismissed it as “snake oil.”
But an emerging crop fertilizer technology is gaining interest amid an acute shortage caused by wars in the Middle East. Though research is in early stages and has not yet been peer-reviewed, the method is also being explored as one possible way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from traditional chemical fertilizers.
The cold plasma method essentially replicates lightning, similar to the novelty lightning globes popular in the ’90s.
The fertilizer is made on site at individual farms, a potential advantage as geopolitical conflicts disrupt supply.
About one-third of the world’s fertilizer is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has been severely restricted since the beginning of March. Compounding the problem, Iran is a major producer of fertilizer and nitrogen, and its industry has been damaged by airstrikes.
Jeff Harrison, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario, said that has pushed fertilizer prices sharply higher.
“Expenses are exceeding revenues this year, and that’s not a pretty picture for farmers,” said Harrison, who grows corn and soybeans in Quinte, about 100 kilometres from Kingston, Ont.
WATCH | Strait of Hormuz big trouble for farmers:
Canadian farmers face soaring fertilizer costs with Strait of Hormuz closure
Canadian farmers are seeing fertilizer price spikes that could impact food production as the Iran war grinds on. Much of the world’s fertilizer transits through the Strait of Hormuz, which is now closed to most commercial traffic.
What has plasma got to do with it?
To understand how cold plasma fertilizer works, it helps to get a handle on the vocabulary. Plasma is a word used to describe a component in your blood, but it has a different meaning in physics.
“If you put energy into liquids, you can make them gaseous,” said…
