Cinis Fertilizer, a Swedish company that converts industrial waste into sulfate of potash (SOP) fertilizer, has commenced the construction of its largest plant in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The plant will have a capacity of 300,000 metric tons of potassium sulfate per year, with operations scheduled to begin in 2026.

For the Hopkinsville facility, the company has entered a ten-year agreement with Ascend Elements , a cathode material recycler, to secure up to 240,000 metric tons of sodium sulfate per year. In addition, the company has also expanded its partnership with K+S Minerals and Agriculture (K+S), a supplier of mineral products for agriculture, to sell potassium sulfate and purchase potassium chloride from K+S' facilities in Saskatchewan, Canada.

The investment in Cinis Fertilizer's Hopkinsville plant is estimated at SEK 1 billion, and the company has planned to finance it through internal cash flow and loans, along with exploring additional financing solutions, including state and federal investment grants. Furthermore, the company has partnered with the City of Hopkinsville to purchase the land for the plant and has begun discussions with a regional power supplier regarding the supply of fossil-free electricity. 

Analyst QuickTake: The Hopkinsville plant in the US, the third after Cinis Fertilizer’s first two plants in Örnsköldsvik and Skellefteå in Sweden , is part of the company’s growth plan to reach a production capacity of 1.5 million tons of potassium sulfate across six facilities by the end of the year 2030. Earlier this month, the company also signed an agreement with K+S for the purchase and delivery of potassium chloride for the company's facilities in Sweden.