NitroNet N2O project receives $3M grant

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, received a $3 million grant for NitroNet, a project that intends to create an autonomous sensing system able to monitor fields for nitrous oxide emissions over a growing season.

Given by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, the grant was presented to Mark Zondlo, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University and the director of graduate studies; Intelligent Material Solutions Inc.; Paige Wireless; and Slant Range. The grant was a part of the Smartfarm program, which works to improve data collection in the biofuel supply chain.

The project, known fully as NitroNet: Smart System to Quantify Nitrous Oxide Emissions, uses mid infrared lasers, detectors and reflectors that map nitrous oxide emissions at high temporal and spatial resolutions. It is all monitored by a compact pilotless drone and data comparisons with established monitoring approaches.

It’s the project’s objective that by totaling the loss of nitrogen over a growing season, producers can make informed decisions about methods that decrease the harmful environmental and climate impacts tied to agricultural crop production.

“What is unique about NitroNet is that it is a continuous, unattended 24/7 system that does not interfere with the farmers’ operation, and yet the information will allow farmers to monetize their efforts to reduce their climatic footprint,” says Zondlo. “It is a ‘win-win’ for both agriculture and the environment.”