The Green Fertilizer Grant Program provides funding to agricultural and rural electric cooperatives to invest in green fertilizer production facilities located in Minnesota.
Donor Name: Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
State: Minnesota
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/02/2025
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Program funds can be combined with available federal financial assistance programs, such as the Inflation Reduction Act Green Hydrogen Tax Credit (45V) or Department of Energy loan programs.
Priorities
This grant program will prioritize:
- Projects demonstrating strong business readiness.
- Projects demonstrating support through private financing, state loans, or federal sources.
- Projects located in counties with a poverty rate greater than 9%. (The average rate of poverty in Minnesota is 9.3% according to the US Census Bureau’s report, Poverty in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2023).
Funding Information
They have approximately $3.8 million available for eligible projects. The minimum grant award is $250,000 and the maximum grant amount is $3.8 million.
Grant Period
Grant contract agreements are anticipated to be for three years, with an expected start date of February 2026 and an expiration date of January 31, 2029.
Eligible Expenses
Investments in green fertilizer production facilities located in Minnesota are the only eligible expenses allowed in the Green Fertilizer Grant Program. Eligible expense guidance and bidding requirements pertain to the grantee—the agricultural or rural electric cooperative—not to the activities of the green fertilizer production facility. The MDA has defined ‘invest’ to mean the purchase of equity shares, or a similar ownership stake.
Eligible Production Facilities
Green fertilizer production facilities must meet the following criteria:
- Use renewable energy in the production of anhydrous ammonia, urea, or hydrogen.
- Hydrogen used to make the green fertilizer must meet the definition of green hydrogen outlined in the definitions section of this RFP.
- The renewable energy, hydrogen, and ammonia must be produced within 100 miles of the green fertilizer production facility.
- Produce the final green fertilizer product in Minnesota.
- Be operational within five years of grant agreement effective date.
- Begin construction before December 31, 2027. This criterion may be revised if the related eligibility deadline for 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit is extended.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for this grant opportunity:
- Be organized under MINN. STAT. 308A or 308B as an agricultural or rural electric cooperative.
- Intend to invest in a facility that produces green fertilizer.
- Commit to a long-term offtake agreement(s) with the green fertilizer production facility.
- Commit to provide training in fertilizer application best management practices and develop a program to share information with cooperative members.
- Be in good standing with the State of Minnesota:
- No back taxes owed.
- No defaults on Minnesota state-backed financing for the last seven years.
- Acceptable performance on any past MDA grants and other state agencies.
- Compliant with current state regulations.
- Be appropriately licensed and authorized to conduct business in Minnesota.
For more information, visit MDA.
