Ammonia underpins global food production, but its century-old manufacturing process remains energy-intensive and heavily dependent on fossil fuels. This article explores emerging technologies aiming to reshape ammonia production, from green and blue ammonia to electrochemical, geologic, and chemical looping pathways.
Ammonia is the second most produced chemical globally. It is vital to global food supply, used as a fundamental component of agricultural fertilizer. It has been estimated that ammonia helps to feed roughly 7 billion people on earth. Other applications of ammonia include explosives, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and as a refrigerant. However, current production of ammonia is heavily reliant on the Haber-Bosch process and natural gas. Production accounts for roughly 2% of global energy consumption.
Technologies to reduce the reliance on natural gas are seeing some traction, and several methods exist to produce low-carbon ammonia. IDTechEx forecasts 56.5 million tonnes of global low-carbon production capacity by 2036. Low-carbon ammonia also opens up emerging applications of ammonia, beyond decarbonization of existing applications. There is interest in the use of low-carbon ammonia as a hydrogen carrier, marine fuel, and for other industrial power generation. IDTechEx's report, 'Ammonia Market 2026-2036: Technologies, Forecasts, Players'explores the existing ammonia market, covering trends and challenges across production, distribution and emerging applications.
Alternative ammonia production methods. Source: IDTechEx photo.
Haber-Bosch ammonia
The Haber-Bosch process to produce ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen was developed in the early 1900s. It is carried out at temperatures of 300-500°C and pressures of 150-350 bar, typically over an iron catalyst. Haber-Bosch plants are around 50% efficient, requiring around 10 MWh of energy to produce a tonne (~5MWh) of ammonia. The hydrogen source for the process is natural gas, converted via steam methane reforming. As natural gas is also typically used to power the Haber-Bosch process as well, the overall process is heavily reliant on fossil fuels. As such, grey ammonia (and fertilizer) prices have been heavily influenced by recent conflict along the Strait of Hormuz.
Haber-Bosch ammonia can be produced with fewer carbon emissions. Firstly, carbon capture capabilities can be utilized alongside grey ammonia production methods to produce blue ammonia. However, an alternative hydrogen source via the electrolysis of water be used to produce green ammonia, provided the energy used throughout the processes is powered by renewables. Green ammonia can aid energy independence from fossil fuels which may be helpful geopolitically. However, it remains far more expensive than grey ammonia production currently.
Green ammonia still relies on the Haber-Bosch process, but there are minor changes, for example, an air separation unit is used to introduce nitrogen into the process. A more interesting innovation is the development of dynamic plant operation, which is more suitable to intermittent renewable power. This allows reliable operation over periods with low loads. In 2025, Topsoe announced the first dynamic green ammonia production facility in Denmark.
Haber Bosch alternative ammonia production pathways
Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia is being developed by several companies, such as Jupiter Ionics. The feedstocks for the process are also water and nitrogen. Production can occur in modular units, allowing local production of ammonia to end-use cases. This can open up new market opportunities for ammonia. In areas far from deep seaports transport costs can be high, so localized production of ammonia can become cost-competitive with grey. Modular green ammonia production is also being developed, by companies such as TalusAg.
Nitrates and nitrites can be reduced to ammonia as an alternative production method. For PaniClean, this method is developed to cleanse water sources, with ammonia produced as a useful byproduct. Alternative methods produce nitrates by plasma oxidation of nitrogen in the air before subsequent reduction to ammonia. PlasmaLeap are trialing this technology.
Addis Energy is a company developing geologic ammonia production. Nitrogen, water, and catalyst are pumped into iron-rich rock in order to produce ammonia. 6,000 feet underground, the earth provides the temperature and pressure for the reaction. Whilst undemonstrated currently, this is anticipated to reduce the cost compared to grey ammonia production.
Chemical looping utilizes multiple reaction steps. In the first step, a metal nitride, such as Li3N is formed. By reaction with a hydrogen source, ammonia can then be produced. This approach reduces pressure requirements which could result in lower capex reactors compared to Haber-Bosch production.
Ammonia production outlook
Despite innovations in alternative ammonia production methods, Haber-Bosch is here to stay, at least in the medium term. However, Haber-Bosch production is anticipated to increasingly shift from grey production to blue and green ammonia production. Green ammonia production, and some of the other emerging production technologies will be well suited to modular local production, which will be suitable for several markets currently underserved by ammonia distribution infrastructure.
For now, low-carbon ammonia production will be best suited to decarbonization of existing fertilizer applications of ammonia, but technologies such as ammonia for marine fuel, ammonia cracking, hydrogen carriers, and power generation are being explored. To find out more about ammonia, see 'Ammonia Market 2026-2036: Technologies, Forecasts, Players'.
For more information on this report, including downloadable sample pages, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Ammonia, or for the full portfolio of decarbonization-related research available from IDTechEx, see www.IDTechEx.com/Research/Decarbonization.
