Two Hong Kong AgTech Projects Seek to Land in the U.S.

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Two agricultural technology projects from Hong Kong are seeking deployment in the U.S. market, targeting fertilizer supply and agricultural labor shortages, respectively.

Amonova, a Hong Kong agtech startup, has developed a solar-powered air-to-fertilizer platform. The system uses air, water, and light to produce nitrogen fertilizer on-site, reducing farms' reliance on large centralized fertilizer plants and long-distance international supply chains. Hu Xincheng, founder and CEO of Amonova, said the technology employs a light-driven catalytic process that scales down large industrial systems into farm-sized units. The technology originated from research at the University of Oxford around 2011 and has entered the commercialization stage after development by three generations of researchers. It is currently being piloted in India, Kyoto, Japan, as well as Quzhou and a site in Zhejiang Province, mainland China.

Hu noted that markets heavily dependent on imported fertilizers or fertilizer raw materials are the primary application targets, with Japan and South Korea being typical examples. In the United States, California, with its abundant solar resources and periods when the grid cannot absorb all photovoltaic generation, could use surplus renewable electricity to produce fertilizer. Amonova participated in a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region delegation to Silicon Valley, showcasing its technology and engaging with potential investors.

The other project is an intelligent blueberry-picking robot developed by the Hong Kong Logistics Robotics Center. The robot features a mobile platform with dual robotic arms, using artificial intelligence to identify ripe blueberries, analyze optimal gripping positions, and pick them without damage. Yang Mengzhang, head of the Hong Kong delegation, said that with the long-standing agricultural labor shortage in the U.S., the technology holds application potential there. Yang said the device is based on a four-wheel mobile platform, and with different systems added, it can pick blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries, while larger robots could also be built to harvest cherries.

At the 2026 Silicon Valley International Invention Festival, Amonova received the festival's highest honor for its solar-powered distributed air-to-fertilizer platform. The Hong Kong delegation won a total of 8 special awards, 22 gold medals, and 13 silver medals. The Hong Kong Logistics Robotics Center received one gold medal at the festival.