TFI expands certification scheme to include ammonia-derived fertilizers

Nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, urea, and urea ammonium nitrate now covered

Click to learn more about The Fertilizer Institute’s expanded certification scheme, which now includes carbon intensity verification for ammonia derived fertilizers.

The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) has released a new edition of its calculation methodology for the Verified Ammonia Carbon Intensity (VACI) certification scheme, expanding the program to include nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, urea, and urea ammonium nitrate: “the primary forms in which ammonia is sold and used in agriculture and industrial processes today”. A ninety-day comment period is now open, and TFI welcomes comments from ammonia producers, fertilizer manufacturers, farmers, food companies, the public, and other stakeholders.

The new guidance moves VACI from concept to practical application for today’s nitrogen products marketFarmers, retailers, food companies, and industrial consumers are all asking for credible, verifiable data to support lower-carbon supply chains. Other certification programs are years away, but our VACI methodology delivers transparency and trust that will inform today’s markets.

TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch, in his organisation’s official press release, 3 Feb 2026

Transparency only works if it is informed by those who use it. We strongly encourage stakeholders across the fertilizer and food value chain to participate in this comment period and help shape the future of low-carbon fertilizer markets.

TFI Vice President and VACI Program Lead Alice McKinnon, in her organisation’s official press release, 3 Feb 2026

Fully interoperable with (and developed alongside) the AEA’s Ammonia Certification System, VACI was launched in December 2024, and is designed specifically to verify the carbon intensity of ammonia produced for fertilizer and industrial uses. As part of the methodology, TFI indicates that a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) tool is now available for producers that extends to ammonia-derived products, allowing for verified carbon intensity from ammonia production, all the way through to downstream fertilizer manufacturing.

Companies currently participating in the VACI program include CF Industries, CVR Partners, LSB Industries, Nutrien, and Yara. A list of facilities that have received certification or pre-production certification is available here.