Innovation Platform

NICCEE Core Function

The Innovation Platform aims to foster the co-development of new nitrogen technologies through a user-centered, participatory approach.

The Innovation Platform will not directly produce or implement green ammonia technologies, but rather serve as a catalyst for cross-scale collaboration. Active engagement of stakeholder groups across sectors and collaboration with researchers will enable the co-production of solutions that drive effective and sustainable technological innovation.

Science & Technology Snapshot: Green ammonia fact sheet

Characteristic	Grey ammonia	Blue ammonia	Green ammonia
			“First generation”	“Second generation”
Developed	Around 1909 [1]	2018 [2]	2019 [3,4]	In research [5]
Definition [5,6]	Ammonia produced using fossil fuel in the Haber-Bosch process and fossil fuels-derived hydrogen. [7]	Ammonia produced using fossil fuels in the Haber-Bosch process and methane-derived hydrogen, while incorporating carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to mitigate CO2 emissions.	Ammonia generated using renewable electricity (e.g., wind, solar, hydro, etc) for Haber-Bosch Process and hydrogen from renewable sources.	Ammonia synthesized from water and nitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation or electrochemical production.
H2 Source [5,6]	Fossil fuels-derived hydrogen	Hydrogen from steam methane reforming.	Hydrogen from water electrolysis using renewable electricity (e.g., wind, solar, hydro, etc). [8]	Reacting with water directly and no hydrogen is needed.
Energy Source	Fossil fuels (Coal, heavy fuel oil, naphtha, natural gas) [5]	Fossil fuels [5]	Renewable electricity (e.g., wind, solar, hydro, etc) [6]	Renewable electricity, potentially including bioenergy [5]
Cost range [5]	170-330 £/t	190-370 £/t	220-1220 £/t	220-1220 £/t
CO2 emissions	Coal-derived hydrogen: 2.4 to 3.2 tons of CO2 per ton of ammonia; Methane-derived hydrogen: 1.6 to 1.8 tons of CO2 per ton of ammonia [5,6,9]	Around 0.1-0.2 tons of CO2 per ton of ammonia [6]	0 [6]	0 [6]
Reaction Temperature [5]	350-500 °C	350-500 °C	300-500 °C [10]	Atmospheric temperature
Reaction Pressure [5]	150-300 bar	150-300 bar	150-300 bar	Atmospheric pressure
Reactors	Haber-Bosch reactor [11]	Haber-Bosch reactor with integrated carbon capture systems [5]	Electrolyzers for H₂ production, then Haber-Bosch reactor for ammonia synthesis [5]	Advanced reactors using biological processes or Electrolysis Cell [5]
Environmental and Ecological Impact [5,9]	High CO2 emissions contribute to climate change; Significant energy consumption (8 MWh of energy per ton of ammonia), Water pollution.	Lower CO2 emissions than grey ammonia; water pollution.	Minimal greenhouse gas emissions; sustainable water use. Decentralized green ammonia plants leading to on-site ammonia production shortens the supply chain, reducing or eliminating ammonia transportation costs and logistical issues. [12]	Near Zero Emissions; The benefits of decentralized green ammonia remain consistent. Furthermore, energy consumption is reduced in the absence of the Haber-Bosch process; Aims for circular economy principles.
Impact on Agricultural Fields	Grey ammonia is widely used as a nitrogen fertilizer; Over-reliance can lead to soil acidification; Over-applied can lead to eutrophication. [13]	Blue ammonia provides nitrogen to plants; The same risks as grey ammonia in soil acidification and eutrophication.	Same as grey and blue ammonia.	Biological Nitrogen Fixation promises to enhance sustainability in fertilizer use as only what the crop needs is produced – resulting in low residual nitrogen levels in soil, limited soil acidification and very reduced nitrous oxide emissions and risk of eutrophication. Electrochemical production similar impacts to grey and blue ammonia. [5]

1. The Historical Development and Significance of the Haber Bosch Process, http://www.ipni.net/publication/bettercrops.nsf/0/F717A1BE5453305E85257CDA0071476C/$FILE/BC%202014-2%20p9.pdf
2. K. Hiraoka, Y.Fujimura, Y.Watanabe, M.Kai, K.Sakata, Y.Ishimoto, Y.Mizuno, Cost Evaluation Study on Low Carbon Ammonia and Coal Co-Fired Power Generation. In: NH3 fuel conference 2018.
3. Y. Fujimura, M. Kai, T. Fujimoto, S. Fujimoto, R. Atsumi, M. Nishi, T. Mochizuki, and T. Nanba, Demonstration and Optimization of Green Ammonia Production Operation Responding to Fluctuating Hydrogen Production from Renewable Energy. Ammonia Energy Conference 2019, Orlando, USA.
4. Techno-Economic Challenges of Green Ammonia as an Energy Vector, Chapter 3, Industry progress in ammonia.
5. The Royal Society Ammonia: Zero-Carbon Fertiliser, Fuel andEnergy Store: Policy Briefing. Royal Society, 2020. https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/green-ammonia/green-ammonia-policy-briefing.pdf
6. ACS Energy Lett. 2024, 9, 2920−292.
7. Brown, grey, and turquoise ammonia are grouped as grey ammonia here.
8. Nuclear power is an option for conducting electrolysis but is not typically considered a primary source for generating green ammonia.
9. International Energy Agency. Ammonia Technology Roadmap: Towards More Sustainable Nitrogen Fertiliser Production. International Energy Agency (IEA), 2021. https://www.iea.org/reports/ammonia-technology-roadmap
10. FuelPositive Corporation, https://fuelpositive.com/about-us/
11. Chem. Eng. Process. 2024, 204, 109962.
12. AmmPower, https://www.iamm.green/how-it-works/
13. Plant Soil 2024, DOI: 10.1007/s11104-024-06600-2