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Fertilizer International 519 Mar-Apr 2024

31 March 2024

Warsaw diary

Editorial

Warsaw diary

“We were also fortunate that two key industry players, JESA Technologies and Prayon Technologies, chose CRU Phosphates 2024 to launch newly patented processes on the market”

2024 is my tenth year as editor of Fertilizer International magazine. But, having joined CRU in January, it’s also a fresh start.

This simultaneous feeling of familiarity and change was something I reflected on during a return flight to London at the end of February, after attending CRU Phosphates 2024 in Warsaw. This is an event Fertilizer International has been supporting since its inception – and a conference I’ve been attending since 2015.

But this year was special. I enjoyed the event more and felt it was CRU’s – our – most successful Phosphates conference yet.

This was partly because I was attending for the first time as part of the team responsible for its organisation. I can’t really claim any credit for the event’s crowd-pleasing programme, its smooth running and high standards of friendly professionalism. That was all my colleagues doing, not mine.

But I certainly wasn’t alone in my favourable impression. On the last afternoon, other CRU Phosphates attendees told me – unprompted – they’d had a successful conference too. So, why was that?

Well, for every conference organiser, the most frequently asked question is: “How many delegates this year?” – as if that’s the only indicator of success. Sure, attendance is a clear measure of industry interest and absolutely vital for the bottom line.

But, for our sponsors, exhibitors, delegates and speakers, events are, first and foremost, an experience. For those attending, it’s their overall conference experience – good, bad or indifferent – that determines its success. It’s about quality, not quantity.

I can therefore confidently say CRU did deliver one of the best phosphate conferences of the last decade in Warsaw. The personal feedback I’ve received suggests it was good for content, good for business, good for networking. And enjoyable too. My key CRU Phosphates takeaway? Overall, it was a happy event with happy attendees.

The programme definitely helped. That was clear from the first afternoon of the opening day when I couldn’t find a seat for the technical showcase. That was as true at 5 pm as it was at 1 pm.

That enthusiasm continued into the second day. I’m not always a fan of the ‘fireside chat’ format. But, under the skilful moderation of ICL’s Anthony Zanelli and with the right mix of panellists, it was a definite winner in Warsaw. The discussion of how the industry can continue to deliver on food security – while meeting its energy transition goals – was balanced, engaging and grounded. Judging from the endless questions, the audience thought so too.

For me, one highlight of the conference was the presentation on the future of farming by Karl Wyant, Nutrien’s director of agronomy. This was full of insights and original observations. Yet Karl, a natural presenter, was so adept at keeping us amused we somehow forgot we were learning at the same time.

We were also fortunate that two key industry players, JESA Technologies and Prayon Technologies, chose CRU Phosphates 2024 to launch newly patented processes on the market. JESA’s James Byrd presented the SWIFT process for valorising fluorine, turning this from a nuisance pollutant into a valuable co-product. We hope to report on SWIFT fully in Fertilizer International later this year.

Kevin De Bois of Prayon, meanwhile, gave delegates a clear explanation of Prayon’s new magnesium removal process for phosphate rock, as highlighted in our January/February magazine (Fertilizer International 518, p38). This new approach has real potential to transform both phosphate resource efficiency and resource availability.

It was a pleasure to moderate this technical session and see both James and Kevin present to a packed and receptive industry audience. It was standing room only too, with extra chairs needing to be brought in throughout.

And that’s only a brief snapshot of CRU Phosphates 2024. As usual, we will be carrying a full write-up in our forthcoming May/June issue. This will allow us to also cover the LFP battery market (Fertilizer International 517, p46), one of the conference’s other major themes and an area with huge growth potential.

Summing up, Warsaw has definitely set a high bar. I left CRU Phosphates 2024 enthused, better informed and with valuable new contacts. I hope other attendees found it similarly worthwhile and will be returning for next year’s event in Orlando.

Please do join use there for CRU Phosphates 2025 – and help us build a global community for the phosphates industry.

Simon Inglethorpe, Editor

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