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    North America

    29 July 2026

    Topsoe tech deal advances Project Meadowlark

    Written by Natalie Noor-Drugan

    Project Meadowlark, the more than $1 billion homegrown nitrogen fertilizer complex in Gothenburg, Nebraska that we reported on in May, has taken a major step forward with Topsoe selected to supply blue ammonia technology for the site.

    In our 27 May article, we noted that J Westling & Co (JWC) had secured zoning, entitlements, an air permit and an engineering, procurement and fabrication contract for Project Meadowlark, which is designed to convert all ammonia output into finished products, with planned capacities of 365,000 short tons per year of UAN, 140,000 st/y of ATS and 52,000 st/y of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) for regional farm and transport markets. The latest agreement adds a dedicated blue ammonia unit to that complex.

    Under the new deal, Topsoe will license its SynCOR Ammonia™ technology and provide proprietary equipment and catalysts for a plant in Gothenburg designed to produce around 500 short tons per day of blue ammonia using natural gas as feedstock. The plant is expected to start up in 2029 and will supply low‑carbon ammonia fertilizer to farmers across the Midwest, reducing reliance on product hauled from the US Gulf Coast, where current transport costs into Nebraska are reported at $100–120/st.

    Topsoe describes SynCOR Ammonia™ as a process breakthrough for ammonia, replacing conventional two‑step steam methane reforming with oxygen‑fired autothermal reforming in a single unit. The company says this is the first deployment of SynCOR Ammonia™ dedicated specifically to low‑carbon fertilizer production, rather than to blue ammonia projects designed mainly as energy carriers.

    “This project is about strengthening domestic supply chains that farmers depend on every day,” said Henrik Rasmussen, Managing Director, The Americas, Topsoe. “We are proud to support JWC’s investment in US‑based fertilizer production that produces blue low‑carbon ammonia fertilizers to support domestic supply of critical agricultural outputs.”

    J Westling & Co continues to frame Project Meadowlark squarely at Nebraska’s structural nitrogen deficit and wider US food security. In May, the developer highlighted that Nebraska generates close to $40 billion a year in farm cash receipts while most liquid fertilizer or its components used in the United States are still imported, exposing growers to “supply chain shifts and geopolitical disruptions thousands of miles away”. Founder and CEO Joshua Westling now says the Topsoe partnership will help deliver reliable, high‑quality ammonia fertilizer closer to home: “Nebraska farmers help feed the world… This exciting partnership with Topsoe will allow the team at JWC to provide exactly that.”

    As we reported earlier, the project has raised $50 million in development capital from farmer‑aligned partners and members of Nebraska’s farming community, ahead of a planned project‑finance raise to fund full construction of the more than $1 billion complex. J Westling & Co expects civil works to begin in 2027 and commercial operations around 2029.

    According to BloombergNEF figures cited by Topsoe and JWC, clean ammonia (blue and green) could account for about 13% of global ammonia supply by 2030, with the United States expected to produce roughly one‑third of that, driven largely by low‑carbon projects that strengthen domestic supply and industrial competitiveness. By integrating blue ammonia production into Project Meadowlark, the partners aim to give Midwest farmers greater supply‑chain resilience and confidence heading into each growing season.

    Natalie Noor-Drugan

    Read more from Natalie Noor-Drugan

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