Mario Tenuta, Senior Industrial Research Chair in 4R Nutrient Management and Professor of Soil Ecology in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences.
Nitrogen Innovation Center receives NSERC funding to advance sustainability research
UM’s Dr. Mario Tenuta a member of the global research team
An international research project has secured funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Alliance Grant program to establish the Global Nitrogen Center for Clean Energy and the Environment (NICCEE), an information hub to monitor the lifecycle and effects of nitrogen to improve agriculture-food-energy systems around the world.
The research team is comprised of world-leading scientists from eight countries, tackling some of the most pressing sustainability issues. The University of Manitoba’s Mario Tenuta, Senior Industrial Research Chair in 4R Nutrient Management and Professor of Soil Ecology in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, is a member of the international team examining the ways in which green ammonia production will impact crop production and environmental health.
“The NICEE center will provide an innovation platform to develop green ammonia solutions and educate the next generation of scientists championing sustainable agriculture management,” said Tenuta. “Green ammonia production could provide an alternative to the carbon-intensive production methods in the agricultural sector, enhancing fertilizer use and improving food security and economic prosperity in Canada and in vulnerable regions.”
Dr. Tenuta’s collaboration includes Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, a research-intensive university in Morocco. UM recently signed research and exchange agreements with UM6P in June 2023 to advance shared priorities in green ammonia and sustainable agriculture to improve food production and reduce environmental impact to African farmers.
“Congratulations to Dr. Tenuta and the entire NICCEE team on this well-deserved funding through NSERC,” said Dr. Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International) at UM. “Climate action and sustainability is a key strategic priority for UM, and it is exciting to see this vitally important work receive the support it needs to advance environmentally-friendly solutions in agriculture and food production.”
The NSERC Alliance Grant was awarded to a joint application between the University of Manitoba, University of Guelph, University of Saskatchewan and McGill University. To learn more about the NICEE project, visit: www.niccee.org.
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.