There’s Something in the Water with Green Lightning Nitrogen

Green Lightning has a growing customer base that’s replacing traditional nitrogen

By: Craig Macfie

Farmers continue to see most line items increase in their annual operating budget. This is one reason they are interested in producing their own nitrogen on-farm with Green Lightning.

Chris Nykolaishen, based in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, manages the Canadian distribution of the Green Lightning technology through his company Nytro Ag Corp www.nytro.ca. 2025 was the second growing season Nytro has sold Green Lightning machines to Canadian customers and Nykolaishen and his team continue to educate customers about the new technology.

I interviewed Chris to learn more about this innovative technology.

What is green lightning nitrogen?

“The Green Lightning machine mimics a lightning storm. Atmospheric nitrogen is converted to plant soluble nitrate. The inputs of the machine are air, water, and electricity.”

Farmers are well acquainted with the Haber-Bosch process, invented in 1909, which produces ammonia (NH3). Because NH3 is produced, a hydrogen source is needed, typically coming from natural gas (methane).

“Because natural gas isn’t needed, the farmers operating costs are equivalent to their cost of electricity. Which is typically a few cents per pound of nitrogen”

2025 also marked the second year of Canadian field trials and results were promising.

What did you learn in 2025 trials?

“Moving into 2025 we found out that by slowing the water down through the ‘heads’ (cylinder chambers that house the electrical field) we could make a more concentrated product, simple math told us we could now apply the product at 3 lbs per gallon. The bulk of the effort with our trials were to confirm this number as accurate, and based on the results, we are comfortable with keeping that recommendation.

In comparing Green Lightning as a replacement to traditional nitrogen, whether at a 50%, 75%, or 100% rate, crop yields have been either on par, exceeding, or just below the synthetic nitrogen rate.”

Besides trial data, Nykolaishen fields other common questions from prospective customers about the machines. The most common relate to installation and maintenance requirements and ROI.

What are the water requirements?

“The water is the #1 concern with the machine. We saw the data from 2024, and it was clear that those using cleaner water were seeing much more consistent results. In Canada, we made it a requirement for all customers to install a reverse osmosis system to treat the water before it enters the Green Lightning machine. The product can be variable, and the biggest contributor is the water. Without the right water quality, you’re setting yourself up for failure.”

What are the quality control and testing requirements?

“We provide a TDS meter (total dissolvable solids) at delivery. The customer measures the concentration of the product. Most of our customers can meet product specifications without any additional support from us.” 

How do you apply the product?

“To date customers have used foliar application, Green Lightning replaces the water you use as a carrier. We also have producers using this in furrow with the seed and have seen some impressive germination results. Our research shows spoon feeding the crop nitrogen throughout the growth cycle is most effective. For example, three applications at 10 gal/ac produces better results than one application at 30 gal/ac.”

How do you determine the ROI?

“The ROI is expedited by the amount of traditional nitrogen you replace. Our machine produces one lb of N for approximately three cents, if you factor in additional costs like the machine, RO system, and storage, the cost of N increases to 13-22 cent/lb.

The best ROI is to cut back on traditional forms of nitrogen (Urea, UAN, NH3) and fill the gap with Green Lightning nitrogen. In 2025, we had some customers using it as a top-up application of nitrogen (over and above their regular fertility plan) and some customers using Green Lightning as their only nitrogen source, and everything in between. “

Are there other benefits of Green Lightning nitrogen?

“Organic producers can’t figure out why this isn’t organic certified yet, we’ve been knocking on doors – along with them – to make that happen. Another benefit is our product is salt-free, and you will not burn your crop with direct application regardless of stage of growth.

Also, we recently determined that we have a high level of dissolved oxygen within the product, along with a high anion to cation ratio, which we believe helps make the product more plant available.”

What are you planning for 2026?

“We plan to build on our research and lessons learned in 2025. The goal in 2025 was to show “hey look, this works”, this year we will spend more time and effort into the why and how behind it. We will also be looking into certain tank mix partners, to see if we can confirm certain ‘synergies’ that we found last year from customer feedback.”

Craig Macfie, CPA, PAg, provides fractional CFO services to growing farms and agribusinesses. Find out more at springcfo.com