Researching a way to make nitrogen fertilizer from air, right where plants grow.
C&C's Fertilizer, LLC is developing AirFeed, an unpowered device intended to turn the nitrogen in ordinary air and humidity into plant-available nitrogen at the point of use. Our next step is independent, university-verified testing under real temperature and humidity conditions, including Arizona's.
Almost all nitrogen fertilizer comes from one energy-hungry process.
Nitrogen is the nutrient crops need most. Nearly all of it is made by the Haber-Bosch process in large central plants, then shipped, stored and applied in bulk. Small farms, urban growers and home gardeners have no alternative.
Haber-Bosch runs at high heat and 150–300 atmospheres of pressure.
Approximate share of the world's energy used to make ammonia, which ties fertilizer prices to natural gas.
Arizona's desert soils are naturally low in nitrogen, so growers here depend on purchased fertilizer.
Making ammonia from air at room temperature has been shown in the laboratory (Song, Basheer, Xu & Zare, Science Advances, 2024). No one has yet turned that science into a low-cost device that delivers nitrogen to plants, or tested it in dry climates.
A passive device: air in, plant-available nitrogen out.
AirFeed has no motor, no power supply and no chemical fertilizer to store. Air moves through a layered catalytic mesh, and the nitrogen it produces collects in a reservoir that feeds the root zone. A built-in sensor, NitrogenMeter, measures what the device actually makes.
No external power · no stored chemical fertilizer · output measured on the device
INTENDED PATHWAY This diagram shows how the device is designed to work. Output has not yet been independently validated; that is the purpose of the research plan below.
One question, answered with independent data.
Does the optimized mesh produce agronomically useful nitrogen under real temperature and humidity conditions, including Arizona's? Go/no-go thresholds are set before testing begins.
- Output mapping. Measure ammonia output across 10–40 °C and 15–100% relative humidity, including simulated Arizona conditions.
- Mesh optimization. Tune the mesh composition and architecture for the highest yield per unit area.
- Durability. Test the mesh under accelerated weathering equal to a full growing season.
- Plant validation. Compare plant growth using device-supplied nitrogen against conventional-nitrogen and no-nitrogen controls.
- Commercialization. Build a unit-cost model and interview growers and garden and farm-supply retailers.
How results are verified
Ammonia is measured by indophenol-blue assay and cross-checked by an independent university laboratory. Argon-only and nitrogen-free blanks rule out contamination, the most common source of false positives in this field.
Why Arizona
Published room-temperature ammonia work comes from humid lab conditions. Testing down to 15% relative humidity answers whether the approach can serve desert growers, where nitrogen is scarce and water is precious.
Honest status, updated as we go.
| Status | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Done | Four U.S. provisional patent applications filed (April–June 2026) |
| Done | C&C's Fertilizer, LLC formed in Arizona; SAM.gov registration active; registered on SBIR.gov |
| Done | Device design, engineering drawings and bench-stage prototype work |
| In progress | Arizona university partner for independent laboratory analysis |
| In progress | USDA SBIR Phase I proposal |
| Next | Independent, controlled testing of nitrogen output (not yet performed) |
| Next | Field trials and pilot manufacturing (planned for a later phase) |
Patent pending.
U.S. provisional patent applications, assigned to HVOKC, LLC. Provisional applications are "patent pending" only; they are not issued patents.
Who is behind the work.
Craig Mathew Hall
Founder & CEO · Inventor
20+ years in commercial risk management and regulatory compliance, plus medical-device sales, FDA compliance and federal contracting. Leads device design, patents and research planning.
Research collaborators
We are working with Arizona university scientists on independent laboratory analysis and desert-soil validation. Names will be listed here once agreements are finalized.
Researchers, growers and program staff: we'd like to hear from you.
Get in touch
- erm@hvokc.com
- Phone
- 602-210-7735
- Location
- Peoria, Arizona
Company facts
- Legal name
- C&C's Fertilizer, LLC
- Parent
- HVOKC, LLC
- UEI
- LRTVWJK3EC23
- CAGE
- 24A41
- NAICS
- 325311