John Foye

John Foye is an entrepreneur building companies at the intersection of climate and human impact. He is COO of TalusAg (www.talusag.com), a company decarbonizing fertilizer through small-scale, modular green ammonia plants. Talus’s first plant - commissioned in Naivasha, Kenya - is the first modular green ammonia facility in the world, offering a decentralized, low-carbon alternative to industrial nitrogen production. At Talus, John leads operations and spearheads the development of pathways to convert ammonia into fertilizer formats accessible to smallholder farmers. John also founded Working Trees (www.workingtrees.com) and serves as President. Working Trees is a nature-based carbon removal company pioneering silvopasture at scale. Working Trees partners with cattle farmers in Brazil to restore tree cover to degraded pasturelands, generating high-integrity carbon credits while supporting agricultural productivity. The company’s mission is to grow trees where the interests of farmers and the climate overlap, and has successfully launched the first carbon project for ranchers in the Amazon. John’s career spans climate tech, carbon markets, and energy access. Prior to Talus and Working Trees, he led market expansion at Fenix International (acquired by ENGIE), bringing off-grid solar energy to millions of rural households across Africa. He has also worked in early-stage investing and founded a solar window startup. John holds a B.S.E. in Materials Science Engineering and an B.S. in Economics from University of Pennsylvania, and earned an M.B.A. and M.S. in Land Use and Agriculture from Stanford University.

Working at the intersection of climate and human impact.

Imagine a world where the same sun that scorches the maize field helps feed the families that live there. It’s possible. In sub-Saharan Africa, smallholder farmers - roughly 33 million of them - are the backbone of the continent’s food supply. They farm the land by hand, often with limited tools, little irrigation, and almost no fertilizer. And while the rest of the world has benefited from a Green Revolution powered by synthetic nitrogen, Africa has largely been left behind. Why? Because nitrogen fertilizer is expensive - often two to six times more costly in SSA than in the US. It’s made in billion-dollar chemical plants using natural gas or coal and then shipped across oceans and trucked across long, inland roads. This price point and doesn't work for smallholders. The result? Yields that are 20% of global averages, rising food insecurity, and a looming threat: if productivity doesn’t improve, tens of millions of hectares of native ecosystem will be cleared just to meet demand. That’s a climate disaster waiting to happen. But here’s the idea worth spreading: low-cost, decentralized green ammonia is going to happen in Africa. The question is whether it will serve commercial agribusiness - or smallholder farmers. And that answer depends on what we do next. Thanks to plunging renewable energy costs and advancements in electrolysis and small-scale Haber-Bosch systems, it’s now possible to produce ammonia - the foundation of all nitrogen fertilizers - using only air, water, and sunlight. You can drop a chemical plant housed in a handful of shipping containers to generate a ton of ammonia per day. The technology is real - at Talus we have done this. The economics are improving. The production side is at least solvable. But production is only half the problem. Ammonia in its raw form is hard to use safely. It burns skin, blinds eyes, and must be injected deep into soil using specialized equipment. It’s great for large, mechanized farms. But not for the smallholder with a hoe. So here’s the challenge: how do we convert green ammonia into fertilizer formats that work for smallholder farmers? This is where things get interesting. Over the past 5 years, I’ve spoken with hundreds of experts—engineers, agronomists, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit leaders. I’ve modeled the costs of every imaginable conversion pathway. And here’s what I found: Some options are already promising: Aqua ammonia—where ammonia is dissolved in water—can be applied through irrigation systems or knapsack sprayers. It’s safe, affordable, and adaptable. Fertigation, for example, could cut nitrogen costs by 49%. Differ solid fertilizers, made by reacting ammonia with different acids, is not only cost-effective, but also agronomically relevant - plants need more than nitrogen. And fertilization-as-a-service, where trained teams apply fertilizer using small tractors or custom tools, could bridge the gap while boosting safety and precision. The bottom line is this: We’re on the cusp of a new era of localized nitrogen production. But without innovation on the last mile - without formats, tools, and services that work for the farmers who feed Africa - this revolution will bypass the very people who need it most. So what do we do? First, we stop thinking only about production. We start investing in conversion, distribution, and behavior change. That means working with agri-SMEs, irrigation companies, cooperatives, and farmer networks. Second, we design for reality. That means low-cost storage tanks, mobile sprayers, bundled services, and financing models that align incentives for optimal application (and avoid overuse). Third, we bring in governments as partners. Decentralized ammonia has spillover benefits: food security, price stability, rural jobs, and resilience in a warming world. That deserves support - through policy, subsidies, or infrastructure investment. Finally, we shift our mindset. The goal isn’t just to sell fertilizer. It’s to unlock human potential. When a farmer gets access to affordable nitrogen, she can double her yields. That means more food on the table, more money for school fees, and less pressure to cut down the forest next door. That’s the real payoff. Because if we get this right, we don’t just decarbonize fertilizer. We empower millions of farmers. We protect the land. And we build a model of agricultural development that is decentralized, dignified, and rooted in the places it’s meant to serve. The sun is shining. The technology is ready. Let’s make sure the benefits flow all the way to the smallholder's field.

agroforestry, ammonia, carbon, carbon markets, energy access, fertilizer, hydrogen, SHS, silvopasture, solar, solar home systems